University  of  the  State  of  New  York 


BULLETIN 


OF  THE 

New  York  State  Museum 


VOL.  2.  No.  10 

SEPTEMBER,  1890 


BUILDING  STONE  IN  NEW  YORK 


JOHN  C.  SMOCK 


UNIVERSITY 


i 


i 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


A  report  on  the  qnarry  districts  of  Xew  York,  and  on  the  location, 
extent,  geological  relations,  statistics  and  ownership  of  the  quarries  of 
building  stone,  was  published  by  the  State  Museum  as  bulletin  Xo.  3, 
March,  1888. 

The  scope  of  the  work,  as  planned  originally,  included  a  series  of  com¬ 
parative  physical  tests,  chemical  analyses  and  microscopic  examinations 
of  representative  stones,  but  owing  to  the  incompleteness  of  the  collec¬ 
tions,  these  investigations  were  not  made,  and  the  preparation  of  a  sec¬ 
ond  bulletin  on  the  building  stone  of  the  state  was  then  announced. 
Soon  after  the  issue  of  bulletin  Xo.  3,  a  circular  letter  was  sent  out, 
calling  attention  to  it,  and  requesting  the  correction  of  any  errors  in  it, 
and  soliciting  additional  information  on  the  extent,  location  and  statis¬ 
tics  of  the  quarries,  and  on  the  markets  and  use  of  the  stone  in  cities. 
Answers  were  received  from  many  of  the  quarry  owners  and  superintend¬ 
ents,  affording  valuable  data  for  a  second  report. 

The  additional  information  thus  obtained  has  been  incorporated  in 
the  descriptive  notes  of  the  quarries,  so  far  as  space  would  permit. 

The  work  of  collecting  proper  specimens,  which  should  be  typical  and 
represent  the  leading  classes  and  varieties  of  building  stone  quarried  in 
the  state,  was  done  by  Professor  Francis  A.  Wilber,  of  Rutgers  college, 
Xew  Brunswick,  Xew  Jersey,  who  was  employed  to  make  the  chemical 
analyses  and  the  comparative  physical  tests.  This  collection  was  made 
in  the  summer  of  1889.  The  work  in  the  laboratory  was  done  in  the 
following  autumn  and  in  the  winter  of  1889-90.  For  purposes  of  com¬ 
parison  a  few  extra-limital  stones  were  put  in  the  series. 

The  desirabilitv  of  a  larger  number  of  tests  and  of  stones  from  all  of 
our  leading  quarries  is  so  evident  that  reference  to  the  fact  is  here 
sufficient.  Want  of  time  and  the  cost  of  making  such  tests  prevented 
their  extension.  The  results  show  that  the  state  is  possessed  of  great 
wealth  in  the  variety  and  superior  character  of  its  building  stones.  They 
are  as  good  as  the  best  of  any  state  or  country.  The  use  of  stone,  in 
construction,  in  our  cities,  was  suggested  by  the  numerous  references  of 


i94 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


quarrymen  to  notable  buildings  as  examples  of  their  stone.  The  cities 
of  the  state  haying  a  population  over  twenty  thousand  were  visited  in 
the  latter  part  of  1889  and  in  the  winter  of  1889-90,  and  notes  were  col¬ 
lected  on  the  kinds  of  stone  in  general  use,  and  the  extent  to  which  it 
was  employed  for  building,  street  work  and  other  general  constructive 
work.  Valuable  and  interesting  data  were  thus  obtained  from  dealers  in 
stone,  architects,  city  engineers,  and  others.  They  have  been  used  with 
the  notes  of  my  own  personal  observations,  in  the  preparation  of  the  sec¬ 
tion:  On  the  use  of  building  stone  in  cities.  The  subject  is  interest¬ 
ing  and  of  great  practical  importance.  The  ephemeral  nature  of  the 
greater  part  of  our  buildings,  the  use  of  combustible  materials,  the  ill-ad¬ 
vised  selection  of  stone  and  the  faulty  methods  in  construction,  dictated 
by  a  false  economy,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  more  costly  public  struc¬ 
tures,  point  to  the  urgent  need  of  more  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
value  of  our  own  building  material,  and  the  great  aggregate  losses  by 
fires  emphasize  this  lesson.  The  aim  in  this  bulletin,  as  in  the  first  one 
on  this  subject,  has  been  to  make  the  notes  and  descriptions  plain  and 
serviceable  to  the  people  of  the  state,  and  to  admit  such  observations  and 
discussions  only,  as  tended  to  that  end. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  section  on  the  use  of  stone  in  cities,  the  re¬ 
port  of  Dr.  Alexis  A.  Julien  of  Columbia  college,  in  the  tenth  volume 
of  the  Tenth  United  States  Census,  on  building  stone  in  New  York,  has 
been  of  the  greatest  service.  The  list  on  pages  309-316  is  largely  taken 
from  his  report. 

Valuable  suggestions  were  obtained  from  Prof.  James  HalFs  Report  on 
Building  Stone,  to  the  capitol  commission,  made  in  1868  ;  from  Geo.  P. 
MerrilPs  Handbook  and  Catalogue  of  the  Building  and  Ornamental 
Stones  in  the  United  States  National  Museum;  from  Prof.  N.  H. 
WinchelPs  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Minnesota;  and  from  Dr.  Thomas 
Egleston’s  Monograph  on  the  Cause  and  Prevention  of  the  Decay  of 
Building  Stone.  The  microscopic  examinations  were  made  by  Prof.  F. 
L.  Nason,  of  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey. 

Again,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  my  great  indebtedness  to  the 
many  quarry  owners  and  superintendents  who  gave  freely  of  their  time 
and  services,  and  without  which  aid  the  preparation  of  this  bulletin 
would  have  been  impossible. 

JOHN  C.  SMOCK 

State  Museum,  Albany,  September,  1890 


CONTENTS 


Page 

I.  Classification  and  arrangement .  197-201 

II.  Geological  position  and  geographical  distribution...  202-227 

I.  Crystalline  rocks . 202-213 

Granites,  gneisses,  syenites,  norites,  trap . 202-207 

Limestones  and  marbles .  207-214 

Calciferous  sandrock  . . , .  210 

Trenton  limestone . . .  210-211 

Niagara  limestone .  21 1-2 12 

Lower  Helderberg  limestone .  212 

Upper  Helderberg  limestone . .  2 12-2 13 

Tully  limestone . . „. . .  213 

II.  Fragmental  rocks  —  sandstones.... .  214-227 

Potsdam  sandstone . .  21 7-2 1 8 

Hudson  river  group . 218 

Oneida  conglomerate .  218-21.9 

Medina  sandstone .  219-221 

Clinton  group . 221 

Oriskany  sandstone .  221 

Caudi  Galli  grit  and  Schoharie  grit .  221 

Marcellus  shale  and  Hamilton  group . 221-223 

Portage  group ... . . . . .  ...  223-224 

Chemung  group . 224 

Catskill  group . . 224 

Triassic  formation . 225-226 


196 


CONTENTS 


Page 

III.  Descriptive  notes  of  quarry  districts  and  quarries.  .  228-281 

I.  Crystalline  rocks .  228-255 

Granites,  etc .  228-234 

Limestones  and  marbles . . .  234-255 

Marbles .  234-238 

Limestones  ; .  . . . .  ...  238-255 

Hudson-Champlain  valley .  238-243 

Mohawk  valley . 243-246 

St.  Lawrence  valley .  247-248 

Lower  and  Upper  Helderberg  groups. . . .  249-254 
Niagara  limestone . 254-255 

II.  Fragmental  rocks  —  sandstones . 255-281 

Potsdam  sandstone . . 255-258 

Hudson  river  group. . .  . .  259-260 

Medina  epoch . .  260-265 

Hamilton  and  Portage  groups . 265-275 

Hudson  river  blue-stone . 265-271 

Sandstone  of  the  Clinton  group .  273 

Portage  group  (western) .  274-275 

Chemung  group .  275-278 

Triassic  or  new  red  sandstone .  278 

Slate .  279-281 

IV.  On  the  use  of  stone  in  cities . 282-352 

V.  Physical  tests  and  chemical  examinations  of  build¬ 
ing  stone .  353~372 

VI.  On  the  durability  of  building  stone  and  causes  of 

decay.... .  373-389 

Physical  structure . . . . . .  373“ 37 7 

Chemical  composition .  3 7 7—3 79 

Accident  of  position . 379-381 

Causes  of  decay .  382-389 

Index . 39I~395 

Map . 396 


INTRODUCTION 


I97 


1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Classification  and  Arrangement 

The  classification  of  building  stone  may  be  geological, 
according  to  the  formations  whence  it  is  obtained,  and  fol¬ 
lowing  the  systems  of  rock  classification,  in  which  the  min- 
eralogical  and  chemical  characters  serve  as  the  basis  for 
division  into  species  and  varieties,  or  it  may  be  architectural, 
in  which  the  use  determines  the  arrangement  of  all  the 
common  kinds  of  stone  in  a  few  large  groups.  A  strictly 
geological  classification  according  to  the  horizon  or  age  of 
the  formation  is  however  somewhat  arbitrary  and  artificial, 
as  stones  almost  identical  in  composition  may  be  found  in 
formations  which  are  of  different  ages.  Sandstones  and 
limestones,  for  example,  occur  in  all  ages.  What  may  be 
called  the  architectural  arrangement,  as  granites,  marbles, 
freestones,  flagging  stones,  etc.,  is  open  to  the  objection  of 
being  indefinite,  confusing  and  unscientific. 

The  division  into  groups  or  classes  and  species  or  kinds, 
based  upon  differences  in  their  mineralogical  constitution, 
is  scientific  and  practical  within  certain  limits.  The  subdi¬ 
visions  may  not  all  be  readily  identified  by  the  practical 
worker,  or  evident  to  the  unaided  and  untrained  eye,  but 
the  larger  classes  of  stone  are  recognized  by  all  and  at 
once.  The  acquaintance  with  the  varieties  in  them  is  a 
matter  of  education.  Although  the  arrangement  according 
to  geological  horizon  does  not  serve  to  mark  the  larger 
divisions,  it  is  convenient  in  description,  and  particularly  in 
so  far  as  it  is  also  geographical  and  indicative  of  the  groups 


198 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM. 


of  localities.  It  gives  us,  as  it  were,  the  provinces  of  occur¬ 
rence  in  the  greater  classes.  In  New  York,  the  lithological 
characteristics  of  some  of  the  geological  formations  have 
been  studied  so  carefully,  and  are  so  persistent  and  well- 
known  that  their  rocks  have  become  types.  The  typical 
Potsdam  sandstone,  the  Medina  sandstone,  the  Trenton 
limestone,  are  recognized  by  practical  quarrymen  as  well  as 
by  geological  experts.  The  geographical  limits  of  some  of 
these  varieties  coincide  with  the  geological  boundaries  of 
the  outcropping  formations.  And  hence  a  geological  map 
of  the  state  shows  their  respective  areas  of  occurrence. 

The  arrangement  in  this  report  is  in  accordance  with  the 
geological  order  under  the  several  classes  of  rocks,  which 
are  as  follows  : 

I.  Crystalline  Rocks. 

1.  Granites,  gneisses,  syenites,  etc.,  etc. 

2.  Trap-rocks. 

3.  Limestones  and  marbles. 

II.  Fragmental  Rocks. 

1.  Sandstones  and  conglomerates. 

2.  Slates. 

In  the  general  notes  on  the  geological  relations  of  the 
building  stone  of  the  state,  and  in  the  description  of  the 
quarry  districts  and  localities  the  subdivisions  under  the 
head  of  Limestones  are  : 

Calciferous 

Chazy 

Trenton 

Niagara 

Lower  Helderberg 
Upper  Helderberg 
Tully 


INTRODUCTION 


I99 


And  under  Sandstones  : 

Potsdam 

Hudson  River 

Oneida 

Medina 

Clinton 

Hamilton 

Portage 

Chemung 

Catskill 

Triassic 

The  order  of  succession  in  the  series  of  geological  forma¬ 
tions  in  New  York  is  shown  in  the  columnar  section  on 
pages  200  and  201.  In  the  first  column  the  longer  eras  of 
the  geological  time  are  given,  Paleozoic,  Mesozoic  and 
Cenozoic.  The  second  column  has  the  subdivisions  into  the 
several  ages,  Cambrian,  Silurian,  etc.  In  the  third,  the  further 
division  into  periods  and  epochs  is  given.*  The  fourth 
column  exhibits  by  conventional  signs  the  nature  of  the 
predominant  types  of  rock  belonging  to  the  several  subdi¬ 
visions.  And  the  names  of  these  leading  kinds  are  given 
in  the  last  column. 

*  The  term  “formation  ”  is  used  in  this  report  as  comprising  the  deposits  laid  down 
during  the  epoch,  e.  g.,  the  Potsdam  sandstone  formation. 

2 


200 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Era.  Ages.  Epochs.  Rocks. 


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INTRODUCTION 


201 


Era.  Ages.  Epochs.  Rocks. 


202 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


II. 

GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  BUILDING  STONE 

IN  NEW  YORK 

I.  Crystalline  Rocks. 

Under  this  head  there  are  the  rocks  which  consist  of  one 
mineral  species,  and  are  simple  in  composition,  as  the 
limestones  and  marbles;  and  the  more  complex  aggregates, 
in  which  two  or  more  minerals  enter,  as  the  granites, 
gneisses,  syenites,  traps  and  other  compound  rocks.  Since 
rocks,  unlike  mineralogical  species,  do  not  have  a  definite 
chemical  composition,  this  subdivision  is  not  based  upon 
sharply  defined  characters.  It  separates  them  however  into 
two  classes,  which  include  many  species  and  kinds,  whose 
varieties  by  imperceptible  gradations  approximating  one 
another  in  composition,  are  still  sufficiently  well  marked,  to 
be  placed  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  divisions.  There  are 
many  varieties  in  the  latter  or  compound  class,  differing 
slightly  from  one  another  in  mineralogical  composition  and 
arrangement.  And  comparatively  few  of  them  are  of  eco¬ 
nomic  importance  as  building  stone. 

A  further  subdivision  of  the  compound  crystalline  rocks 
is  into  massive  and  foliated,  schistose,  or  bedded,  according 
as  they  occur  in  beds  or  are  unstratified.  The  importance 
of  this  division  is  evident,  in  the  absence  of  lamination  or 
layers,  in  the  homogeneous  nature,  and  in  the  larger  size  of 
blocks  which  are  obtainable  in  the  case  of  the  massive  rocks. 

Granites,  Gneisses,  Syenites,  Trap-Rocks  and  Norites. 

i.  Granites.  Typical  granite  is  a  crystalline,  granular  mix¬ 
ture  of  feldspar,  quartz  and  mica.  In  addition  to  these 
essential  constituents,  one  or  more  accessory  minerals  may 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  203 

be  present.  The  more  commonly  occurring  are:  hornblende, 
pyroxene,  epidote,  garnet,  tourmaline,  magnetite,  pyrite  and 
graphite.  And  the  character  of  the  rock  is  often  determined 
by  the  presence  of  these  accessory  constituents  in  quantity. 

The  chemical  composition  also  varies  from  that  of  the 
average  or  typical  kind.  The  mineralogical  differences 
mark  the  varieties,  thus  there  are  :  hornblende  granite, 
biotite  granite,  tourmaline  granite,  etc. 

The  texture  of  the  granites  is  determined  by  the  aggre¬ 
gated  minerals  entering  into  their  composition.  And  they 
vary  from  coarse-crystalline,  in  which  the  individual  crystals 
may  be  an  inch  or  more  in  length,  to  fine-crystalline  and 
aphanitic,  wherein  the  minerals  are  hardly  visible  to  the  eye. 
When  the  feldspar  and  quartz  are  in  a  letter-like  arrange¬ 
ment,  the  rock  is  known  as  pegmatite  or  graphic  granite. 
A  porphyritic  structure  is  produced  by  the  occurrence  of  the 
feldspar,  in  well-developed  crystals  in  the  mass.  In  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  wide  variation  due  to  the  mode  of  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  mineral  constituents,  there  is  an  equally  great 
variety  noticeable  in  the  texture. 

The  color  also  is  dependent  upon  the  minerals.  As 
feldspar  is  the  predominant  constituent  it  gives  character 
to  the  mass,  and  the  red  varieties  are  so  because  of  the  red 
or  pink  feldspars  in  them,  as  in  the  case  of  the  granite  of 
Grindstone  Island  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  shades  of  gray 
are  due  to  the  varying  amount  of  dark-colored  mica  mixed 
with  the  feldspar  and  quartz  ;  and  the  darker-colored  varie¬ 
ties  owe  their  color  in  most  cases  to  hornblende  or  tourma¬ 
line  which  may  be  present. 

The  beauty,  ease  of  working,  durability  and  value  of  the' 
granites  for  use  in  construction  is  related  closely  to  their 
mineralogical  composition.  Their  arrangement  in  the  mass 
and  their  relative  proportion  determine  the  color  and  give 
beauty.  The  presence  or  absence  of  certain  species  influence 
the  hardness  and  homogeneous  nature  and  the  consequent 
ease  with  which  the  stone  can  be  dressed  and  polished.  For 


204 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


example  the  mica,  if  disposed  in  lines,  gives  a  foliated-like 
structure  and  tends  to  produce  what  is  known  as  rift,  and 
the  granite  is  more  readily  split  in  the  planes  of  the  mica 
than  across  them.  Again,  the  mica  flakes  may  be  so  large 
and  irregularly  massed  that  the  surface  is  not  susceptible  of 
a  uniform  degree  of  polish.  Hornblende,  on  account  of  its 
superior  toughness,  is  less  brittle  than  pyroxene  under  the 
polishing,  and  the  hornblende  granites  are  said  to  be  pre¬ 
ferred  to  those  which  contain  pyroxene  in  quantity. 

The  more  nearly  alike  in  hardness  and  the  more  intimately 
interwoven  the  texture  of  the  minerals,  the  more  capable  it 
is  of  receiving  a  good  polish.  And  hence  it  follows  that 
the  very  coarse-crystalline  granites  are  not  so  well  suited 
for  ornamental  work. 

The  enduring  properties  of  granites  vary  with  the  nature 
of  the  minerals  in  their  composition.  Although  popularly 
they  are  regarded  as  our  most  durable  building  stone,  there 
are  some  notable  exceptions,  which  are  evident  in  the  nat¬ 
ural  outcrops,  where  this  rock  is  found  decayed  to  the  depth 
of  ioo  to  200  feet, —  and  in  the  active  disintegration  which  is 
in  progress  in  structures  of  the  present  century.  Foliated 
varieties  placed  on  edge  in  buildings,  tend  necessarily  to 
scale  under  the  sharp  and  great  changes  of  temperature  in 
our  northern  cities  and  towns.  The  more  rapid  decomposi¬ 
tion  of  the  micas  makes  those  varieties  in  which  they  occur 
in  large  flakes  or  aggregations  more  liable  to  decay.  The 
condition  of  the  feldspar  also  is  often  such  as  to  influence  the 
durability.  When  kaolinized  in  part,  it  is  an  element  of 
weakness  rather  than  of  strength.  The  presence  of  the 
easily  decomposable  varieties  of  pyrite  is  not  only  prejudi¬ 
cial  to  strength  and  durability  but  also  to  the  beauty  of  the 
stone  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  decay. 

The  term  “  granite  ”  as  used  among  builders  and  architects 
is  not  restricted  to  rock  species  of  this  name  in  geological 
nomenclature,  but  includes  what  are  known  as  gneisses  (foli¬ 
ated  and  bedded  granites),  syenite,  gabbro  and  other  crystal- 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  205 

line  rocks  whose  uses  are  the  same.  In  fact,  the  similar  adapt¬ 
ability  and  use  have  brought  these  latter  species  into  the 
class  of  granites.  For  example,  the  Au  Sable  granite  of 
Essex  county  is  a  gabbro.  The  term  is  applied  in  some  cases 
to  the  diabases  or  trap-rocks,  as  the  “ granite  quarries”  of 
Staten  Island.  Syenite  differs  from  granite  in  having  more 
hornblende,  with  some  plagioclase  feldspar  and  mica  and 
little  or  no  quartz.  It  is  massive  and  its  occurrence  is  like 
that  of  granite.  And  the  same  general  statements  apply  to 
its  durability  as  to  granite. 

Another  massive  crystalline  rock  which  is  used  in  building 
is  norite  and  consisting  of  labradorite  and  hypersthene,  with 
some  brown  mica.  It  is  a  common  rock  in  the  Adirondack 
region  and  is  known  as  a  granite. 

The  massive  crystalline  rocks  are  of  common  occurrence 
in  New  York,  but  not  in  outcrops  over  extensive  areas, 
excepting  in  the  Adirondack  region.  Granites,  syenites, 
pegmatites  and  other  massive  rocks  are  found  in  veins  and 
dikes  in  the  Highlands  and  in  Westchester  county;  but 
there  are  no  quarries  opened  in  these  out-crops.  The  so- 
called  granites  of  the  Hudson  river  quarries  are,  with  the 
exception  of  that  on  Break  Neck  mountain,  granitoid 
gneisses  and  syenite  gneisses.  The  schistose  class  of  crys¬ 
talline  rocks  is  developed  extensively  in  the  Highlands  of 
the  Hudson  and  in  the  border  of  the  Adirondack  region. 
On  New  York  island  and  within  the  city  limits  the  gneissic 
rocks  have  been  quarried  at  many  points.  In  Westchester 
county  there  are  belts  of  gneiss  and  mica  schist,  in  which 
quarries  have  been  opened  near  Hastings  ;  near  Hartsdale, 
east  of  Yonkers  ;  at  Kensico  ;  at  Tarry  town  and  at  Ganung’s, 
west  of  Croton  Falls.  In  Putnam  county  there  are  quarries 
near  Peekskill ;  and  near  Cold  Spring.  West  of  the  river 
there  are  quarries  on  Iona  Island  ;  at  West  Point ;  near 
Suffern’s  ;  at  Ramapo  ;  on  Mt.  Eve,  near  Florida;  and,  on 
Storm  King  Mt.  near  Cornwall.  The  out-crops  of  these 
schistose  or  foliated  rocks  are  so  numerous  in  the  belt  of 
the  Hudson  Highlands  that  quarries  can  be  opened  at  many 


206 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


points.  And  the  supply  of  stone  is  inexhaustible.  On  the 
Hudson  river  between  Peekskill  and  Fishkill  there  is  a  fine 
section  exposed  of  these  rocks.  The  Ramapo  river  valley, 
traversed  by  the  N.  Y.,  L.  E.  &  W.  railway,  the  Harlem  and 
the  New  York  City  and  Northern,  extend  into  and  cross 
the  belt  and  afford  transportation  to  New  York  city. 

On  the  borders  of  the  Adirondack  region  quarries  have 
been  opened  in  the  towns  of  Wilton,  Hadley  and  Greenfield 
in  Saratoga  county;  at  Whitehall,  in  Washington  county; 
at  Little  Falls,  in  Herkimer  county ;  and  near  Canton, 
in  St.  Lawrence  county.  The  inaccessibility  of  much  of 
this  region  and  the  distance  from  the  large  city  markets 
have  prevented  the  opening  of  more  quarries  in  the  gneissic 
rock  borders  of  the  Adirondacks. 

Trap-Rocks 

Trap-rock  or  trap  is  the  common  name  given  to  a  class 
of  eruptive  rocks  because  of  a  structural  peculiarity,  and  has 
no  distinctive  significance  in  mineralogical  composition. 
The  rocks  of  the  Palisade  mountain  range  and  of  the  Torne 
mountain,  which  extends  from  the  New  Jersey  line,  on  the 
west  shore  of  the  Hudson  river  to  Haverstraw,  are  known 
as  trap-rocks.  There  is  an  outcrop  on  Staten  Island,  near 
the  north  shore,  where  a  large  amount  of  stone  has  been 
quarried  at  the  so-called  “  granite  quarries.  ” 

The  trap-rock  of  the  Palisades  range  is  a  crystalline, 
granular  mass  of  a  plagioclose  feldspar  (labradorite  usually) 
augite  and  magnetite.  It  is  generally  finer-crystalline  than 
the  granite.  The  colors  vary  from  dark  gray  through  dark 
green  and  almost  black. 

This  trap-rock  is  hard  and  tough,  but  some  of  it  is  split 
readily  into  blocks  for  paving.  It  has  been  used  extensively 
in  New  York  and  adjacent  cities  for  street  paving,  but  since 
the  introduction  of  granite  blocks  this  use  has  nearly  ceased. 
On  account  of  its  toughness  it  makes  an  admirable  material 
for  macadamizing  roadways.  It  is  so  hard  that  only  rock-face 
blocks  are  used  in  constructive  work.  .Several  prominent 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  20 7 


buildings  in  Jersey  City  and  Hoboken  are  built  of  it. 
There  is  a  large  quarry  on  the  river  at  Rockland  lake,  the 
output  of  which  is  for  street  work  and  road  material  almost 
exclusively. 

Limestones  and  Marbles 

Limestones  consist  essentially  of  calcium  carbonate. 
They  are  however  often  quite  impure ;  and  the  more  com¬ 
mon  accessory  constituents  are  silica,  clay,  oxides  of  iron, 
magnesia,  and  bituminous  matter.  And  these  foreign  ma¬ 
terials  may  enter  into  their  composition  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  give  character  to  the  mass,  and  hence  they  are  said  to 
be  siliceous,  argillaceous,  ferruginous,  magnesian,  dolomitic, 
and  bituminous. 

The  chemical  composition  is  subject  to  great  variation, 
and  there  is  an  almost  endless  series  of  gradation  between 
these  various  kinds  or  varieties.  Thus,  the  magnesium 
carbonate  may  be  present,  from  traces,  to  the  full  percentage 
of  a  typical  dolomite.  Or,  the  silica  may  range  from  the 
fractional  percentage  to  the  extreme  limit  where  the  stone 
becomes  a  calcareous  sandstone.  Crystallized  minerals,  as 
mica,  quartz,  talc,  serpentine  and  others,  also  occur,  particu¬ 
larly  in  the  more  crystalline  limestones. 

In  color  there  is  a  wide  variation  —  from  the  white  of  the 
more  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime  through  gray,  blue, 
yellow,  red,  brown,  and  to  black.  The  color  is  dependent 
upon  the  impurities. 

The  texture  also,  varies  greatly.  All  limestones  exhibit 
a  crystalline  structure  under  the  microscope,  but  to  the 
unaided  eye  there  are  crystalline  and  massive  varieties. 
And  there  are  coarse-crystalline,  fine-crystalline,  and,  sub¬ 
crystalline,  according  as  the  crystals  are  larger,  smaller, 
or  recognized  by  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  glass  only.  The 
terms  coarse-grained  and  fine-grained  may  apply  when  there 
is  a  resemblance  to  sandstone  in  the  granular  state  of  aggre¬ 
gation.  Other  terms,  as  saccharoidal  (like  sugar),  oolitic, 
3 


208 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


when  the  mass  resembles  the  roe  of  a  fish ;  crinoidal,  made 
up  of  the  stems  of  fossil  crinoids,  also  are  in  use,  and  which 
are  descriptive  of  texture.  The  state  of  aggregation  of  the 
constituent  particles  varies  greatly,  and  the  stone  is  hard 
and  compact,  almost  like  chert,  or  is  loosely  held  together 
and  crumbles  on  slight  pressure,  or  again  it  is  dull  and 
earthy  as  in  chalk. 

The  crystalline,  granular  limestones,  which  are  susceptible 
of  a  fine  polish,  and  which  are  adapted  to  decorative  work, 
are  classed  as  marbles.  Inasmuch  as  the  distinction  is  in 
part  based  upon  the  use,  it  is  not  sharply  defined  and  scien¬ 
tific.  Generally  the  term  is  restricted  to  those  limestones 
in  which  the  sediments  have  been  altered  and  so  metamor¬ 
phosed  as  to  have  a  more  or  less  crystalline  texture.  There 
is  however  some  confusion  in  the  use  of  the  terms,  and  the 
same  stone  is  known  as  marble  and  limestone,  e.  g.,  the 
Lockport  limestone  or  marble  ;  the  limestone  and  coral- 
shell  marble  of  Becraft’s  mountain,  near  Hudson  ;  the 
Lepanto  marble  or  limestone  near  Plattsburgh,  and  others. 

The  fossiliferous  limestones  are  made  up  of  the  remains 
of  organisms  which  have  grown  in  situ,  as  for  example,  the 
coralline  beds  in  the  Helderberg  and  Niagara  limestones, 
or  have  been  deposited  as  marine  sediments.  In  the  case 
of  the  latter  the  fossils  are  more  or  less  comminuted  and 
held  in  a  calcareous  matrix.  Generally  the  fossil  portions 
of  the  mass  are  crystalline.  The  Onondaga  gray  limestone 
from  near  Syracuse,  and  the  Lockport  encrinital  limestone 
are  good  examples. 

The  fossil  remains  are  less  prominent  and  scarcely  visible 
in  some  of  the  common  blue  limestones,  as  in  the  lower 
beds  of  Calciferous  and  in  some  of  the  Helderberg  series. 
These  rocks  are  compact,  homogeneous  and  apparently 
uncrystalline  and  unfossiliferous.  They  are  usually  more 
siliceous  or  argillaceous,  that  is,  they  contain  quartz  or 
clay,  the  latter  often  in  seams  rudely  parallel  with  the  bed¬ 
ding  planes.  On  weathering,  the  difference  in  composition 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  20g 

is  often  markedly  apparent  at  a  glance.  Similar  differences 
in  composition  are  seen  in  the  more  crystalline  marbles,  and 
are  evident  either  by  variation  in  color,  or  in  the  presence  of 
foreign  minerals,  as  mica,  quartz,  hornblende,  pyrite,  etc. 

The  variation  in  the  strength  and  durability  is  as  great  as 
in  the  composition  and  texture.  Some  are  stronger  than 
many  granites  in  their  resistance  to  crushing  force,  and 
equally  enduring  ;  others  consist  of  loosely  cohering  grains, 
and  are  friable  and  rapidly  dissolved  by  atmospheric  agen¬ 
cies.  The  more  siliceous  and  compact  limestones  are  gen¬ 
erally  the  more  durable  and  stronger ;  in  the  marbles,  the 
well  crystallized  and  more  homogeneous  texture  consists 
with  endurance  and  strength.  Both  the  magnesian  and 
dolomitic  varieties  are  good  stone  as  is  proven  by  the 
Calciferous  and  the  Niagara  limestones,  and  in  the  marbles 
of  Tuckahoe  and  Pleasantville,  in  Westchester  county. 

Crystalline  limestones  occur  in  New  York  city  and  West¬ 
chester  county,  and  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson.  In 
the  Adirondack  region  there  are  numerous  localities.  The 
rock  in  many  of  them  is  too  impure  and  has  too  many 
foreign  minerals  to  admit  of  its  use  as  marble.  Quarries 
have  been  opened  in  Westchester,  Putnam  and  Dutchess 
counties,  which  have  yielded  a  large  amount  of  fine  white 
marble.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  the  Port  Henry 
and  the  Gouverneur  quarries  have  been  productive.  The 

geological  horizon  of  some  of  these  marbles  is  in  doubt. 

» 

The  belt  in  the  eastern  part  of  Dutchess  and  Putnam  coun¬ 
ties  belongs  to  the  Vermont  marble  range,  and  is  probably 
metamorphosed  Trenton  limestone.  The  Westchester 
marbles  may  be  of  the  same  age. 

The  limestones  which  furnish  building  stone  in  this  state 
are  the  Calciferous,  Chazy,  Birdseye,  Black  River,  Trenton, 
Niagara,  Lower  Helderberg,  Upper  Helderberg  or  Cornif- 
erous  and  Tully.  The  geographical  distribution  is  given  in 
the  following  notes,  and  in  the  order  of  geological  succes¬ 
sion,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 

27 


210 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Calciferous  Sandrocic 

The  rocks  of  the  Calciferous  formation  in  the  Mohawk 
valley  and  in  the  Champlain  valley  are  more  siliceous  than 
at  the  south-west,  in  Orange  county  and  in  the  Hudson  val¬ 
ley,  and  hence  the  designation  as  a  sandrock.  Much  of  it 
at  the  north  is  a  limestone  rather  than  a  sandstone,  and  may 
be  termed  a  magnesian  or  siliceo  magnesian  limestone. 
Nearly  all  of  the  limestones,  which  are  quarried  for  build¬ 
ing  stone,  in  Orange  and  Dutchess  counties  are  from  this 
formation.  The  stone  occurs  generally  in  thick  and  regular 
beds.  It  is  hard,  strong  and  durable  and  is  adapted  for 
heavy  masonry  as  well  as  for  fine  cut  work.  The  quarries  near 
Warwick,  Mapes’  Corners  and  near  Newburgh  in  Orange 
county  and  those  on  the  Hudson  river,  near  New  Hamburgh, 
are  in  the  Calciferous.  The  Sandy  Hill  quarry  and  those 
at  Canajoharie  and  Little  Falls  are  also  in  it. 

Trenton  Limestone 

Under  this  head  the  Chazy,  Birdseye,  Black  River  and 
Trenton  limestones  are  included. 

The  Chazy  limestone  crops  out  in  Essex  and  Clinton 
counties  and  in  the  Champlain  valley  —  its  typical  localities. 
The  beds  are  thick  and  generally  uneven.  Regular  systems 
of  joints  help  the  .quarrymen  in  getting  out  large  blocks. 
Quarries  at  Willsborough  Point  and  near  Plattsburgh  are 
opened  in  the  horizon  of  the  Chazy.  The  stone  is  suitable 
for  bridge  work  and  for  heavy  masonry. 

The  members  of  the  Trenton  above  the  Chazy  limestone 
are  recognized  in  many  outcrops  in  the  south-eastern  part 
of  the  state  ;  in  the  Hudson-Champlain  valley ;  in  the  Mo¬ 
hawk  valley  ;  in  the  valley  of  the  Black  river  and  north¬ 
west,  bordering  Lake  Ontario  ;  and  in  a  border  zone  on  the 
north  of  the  Adirondacks,  in  the  St.  Lawrence  valley.  In 
so  widely  extended  a  formation  there  is,  as  might  be  ex¬ 
pected,  some  variation  in  bedding,  texture  and  color.  Much 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  21 1 


of  the  Trenton  limestone  formation  proper,  is  thin-bedded 
and  shaly  and  unfit  for  building  stone.  In  the  Birdseye 
also  the  stone  of  many  localities  is  disfigured  on  weather¬ 
ing,  by  its  peculiar  fossils.  Generally  the  stone  is  sub-crys¬ 
talline,  hard  and  compact  and  of  a  high  specific  gravity  and 
dark-blue  jto  gray  in  color.  But  the  variation  is  wide,  as  for 
example,  between  the  black  marble  of  Glens  Falls  and  the 
gray,  crystalline  rock  of  the  Prospect  quarries  near  Trenton 
Falls.  The  variation  is  often  great  within  the  range  of 
a  comparatively  few  feet  vertically  ;  and  the  same  quarry 
may  yield  two  or  more  varieties  of  building  stone.  In  sev¬ 
eral  quarries  the  Birdseye  and  Trenton  are  both  represented. 
Many  quarries  have  been  opened  in  the  formation  and  there 
are  many  more  localities  where  stone  has  been  taken  from 
outcropping  ledges,  which  are  not  developed  into  quarries 
proper.  The  more  important  localities  which  are  worked 
steadily  are  :  Glens  Falls,  Amsterdam,  Tribes  Hill,  Cana- 
joharie,  Palatine  Bridge  and  Prospect  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk ;  and  Lowville,  Watertown,  Three  Mile  Bay, 
Chaumont  and  Ogdensburgh  in  the  Black  river  and  St. 
Lawrence  valleys.  The  railroad  and  canal  lines,  which  trav¬ 
erse  the  territory  occupied  by  these  formations,  afford  trans¬ 
portation  facilities  and  offer  inducements  to  those  who  are 
seeking  new  quarry  sites  where  these  limestones  may  be 
found  in  workable  extent. 

Niagara  Limestone 

The  Niagara  limestone  formation  is  well  developed  west 
from  Rochester  to  the  Niagara  river;  and  there  are  large 
quarries  in  it  at  Rochester,  at  Lockport  and  at  Niagara 
Falls.  The  gray,  sub-crystalline  stone  in  thick  beds  is 
quarried  for  building  purposes.  It  is  filled  with  encrinital 
and  coralline  fossils  and  the  unequal  weathering  of  the 
matrix  and  the  fossiliferous  portions  are  sometimes  such  as 
to  give  the  dressed  surface  a  pitted  appearance  and  with 
cavities  which  roughen  and  disfigure  it.  For  foundations 


212 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


and  heavy  masonry  it  is  well  adapted.  And  it  has  been 
employed  extensively  in  the  western  part  of  the  state. 

Lower  Helderberg  Limestones 

The  Tentaculite,  Water-lime  and  Pentamerus  limestones 
are  included  in  this  group.  The  outcrops  are  in  the  Ron- 
dout  valley,  south-west  from  Kingston  to  the  Delaware 
river  ;  in  the  foot-hills  east  of  the  Catskills- — in  Ulster  and 
Greene  counties  ;  Becraft’s  mountain  near  Hudson  ;  and  in  a 
belt  stretching  west  from  the  Hudson  valley,  along  the 
Helderbergs  and  across  Schoharie  into  Herkimer  county. 

The  Tentaculite  limestone  is  dark-colored,  compact  and 
in  thick  beds  and  can  be  quarried  in  large  blocks.  Some  of 
it  can  be  polished  and  makes  a  beautiful  black  marble,  as 
for  example,  that  of  Schoharie. 

The  Pentamerus  limestones,  both  the  lower  and  the  up¬ 
per,  are  in  thick  beds  and  are  gray,  sub-crystalline  in  texture 
and  look  well  when  dressed.  They  are  adapted  to  heavy 
masonry  as  well  as  for  cut  work. 

Quarries  are  opened  in  this  group  of  limestones  in  the 
Schoharie  valley,  at  Howes  Cave,  Cobleskill,  Cherry  Valley 
and  in  Springfield.  The  quarries  west  of  Catskill  and  in 
Becraft’s  mountain  near  Hudson  also  are  in  it. 

Upper  Helderberg  Limestones 

The  Upper  Helderberg  formation  appears  in  the  Hudson 
valley  at  Kingston ;  thence  it  runs  in  a  belt  west  of  the 
river,  to  the  Helderberg  mountains,  bending  to  the  west- 
north-west  and  then  west  it  continues  across  the  state  to 
the  Niagara  river  and  Lake  Erie.  The  subdivisions  are 
known  as  the  Onondaga,  the  Corniferous  and  the  Seneca 
limestones.  The  first  is  more  generally  recognized  as  the 
“Onondaga  gray  limestone ”  and  the  last  as  the  Seneca 
blue  limestone. 

There  is  much  diversity  in  the  limestones  of  this  group  in 
its  long  range  of  outcrop.  The  Onondaga  gray  stone  is 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  213 


gray  in  color,  coarse-crystalline  ;  and  makes  beautiful  ashlar 
work,  either  as  rock  face  or  as  fine-tooled,  decorative  pieces. 

The  Corniferous  limestone  is  hard  and  durable,  but  it  is 
so  full  of  chert  that  it  can  be  used  for  common,  wall  work 
only. 

The  Seneca  blue  limestone  is  easily  dressed  and  is  a  fairly 
good  building  stone. 

Limestone  of  the  Upper  Helderberg  epoch  is  quarried 
extensively  at  Kingston,  Ulster  county,  and  is  a  valuable 
building  stone.  In  Onondaga  county  there  are  the  well- 
known  Splitrock  and  Reservation  groups  of  quarries,  which 
have  produced  an  immense  quantity  of  excellent  and  beau¬ 
tiful  stone  and  which  have  found  a  market  in  all  of  the  cen¬ 
tral  part  of  the  state.  They  are  in  the  lower  member  of 
the  group.  Going  west,  there  are  the  large  quarries  in  the 
Seneca  limestone  at  Union  Springs,  Waterloo,  Seneca  Falls 
and  Auburn.  The  LeRoy,  Williamsville,  Buffalo  and  Black 
Rock  quarries  are  in  the  Corniferous  limestone. 

The  aggregate  output  of  the  quarries  in  the  Upper  Hel¬ 
derberg  limestones  exceeds  in  value  that  of  any  other  lime¬ 
stone  formation  in  the  state.  The  many  quarries  of  the 
Trenton  probably  produce  more  stone. 

Tully  Limestone 

The  Tully  limestone  lying  above  the  Hamilton  shales,  is 
a  thin  formation,  which  is  seen  in  Onondaga  county  and  to 
the  west — on  the  shores  of  Cayuga  lake — in  Seneca 
county  and  disappearing  in  Ontario  county.  It  does  not 
furnish  any  stone  other  than  for  rough  work  and  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  its  outcrops. 

As  a  supplement  to  the  limestones  the  quarry  in  calcareous 
tufa  at  Mohawk,  in  the  Mohawk  valley,  should  here  be 
mentioned,  although  the  quarry  is  of  no  importance  and 
there  is  no  great  outcrop  for  much  work  in  it. 


214 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


II.  Fragmental  Rocks 

Sandstones. 

Sandstones  are  made  up  of  grains  of  sand  which  are 
bound  together  by  a  cementing  material,  in  a  compact  and 
consolidated  mass. 

The  grains  may  be  of  varying  sizes,  from  almost  impalp¬ 
able  dust  to  small  pebbles,  and  more  or  less  rounded  in 
form.  The  cementing  matter  also  may  vary  greatly  in  its 
nature.  From  this  variation,  both  in  the  grains  and  in  the 
cement,  there  is  an  almost  endless  gradation  in  the  kind's  of 
sandstone. 

Quartz  is  the  essential  constituent,  but  with  it  there  may 
be  feldspar,  mica,  calcite,  pyrite,  glauconite,  clay  or  other 
minerals,  and  rock  fragments  common  to  stone  of  sedi¬ 
mentary  origin.  And  these  accessory  materials  often  give 
character  to  the  mass,  and  make  a  basis  for  a  division  into 
feldspathic,  micaceous,  calcareous  sandstones,  etc.,  accord¬ 
ing  as  one  or  another  of  them  predominates. 

The  texture  of  the  mass  also  is  subject  to  a  wide  range  of 
variation,  from  fine-grained,  almost  aphanitic,  to  pebbly 
sandstone,  or  conglomerate,  or  a  brecciated  stone  in  which 
the  component  parts  are  more  or  less  angular. 

Some  of  the  brown  sandstones  of  the  Triassic  age,  quar¬ 
ried  near  Haverstraw,  are  such  conglomeratic  and  brecciated 
sandstones.  Accordingly  as  the  grains  are  small  or  large 
the  stone  is  said  to  be  fine-grained  or  coarse-grained. 

The  variety  in  the  nature  of  the  cementing  material  also 
affords  a  basis  for  classification.  Siliceous  sandstones  have 
the  grains  held  together  by  silica.  They  consist  almost 
exclusively  of  quartz,  and  grade  into  quartzite.  The  ferru¬ 
ginous  varieties  have  for  their  cement  an  oxide  of  iron,  often 
coating  the  grains  and  making  a  considerable  percentage  of 
the  whole.  The  iron  may  be  present  as  a  ferrous  oxide,  or 
in  the  higher  state  of  oxidation  as  ferric  oxide.  Calcareous 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  21  5 

sandstones  are  marked  by  the  presence  of  carbonate  of  lime. 
When  it  exceeds  the  quartz  in  amount  the  sandstone 
becomes  a  siliceous  limestone.  In  the  argillaceous  varieties 
the  binding  material  is  a  clay  or  an  impure  kaolin. 

The  cementing  material  determines  in  most  cases  the 
color.  The  various  shades  of  red  and  yellow  depend  upon 
the  iron  oxides  ;  some  of  the  rich  purple  tints  are  said  to  be 
due  to  oxide  of  manganese. 

The  gray  and  blue  tints  are  produced  by  iron  in  the  form 
of  ferrous  oxide,  or  carbonate.*  By  an  irregular  associa¬ 
tion  of  masses  of  different  colors  a  variegated  surface  is 
produced  or  by  an  alternation  of  white  and  variously  colored 
laminae  a  striped  appearance  is  given  to  the  mass. 

Sandstones  occur  stratified  and  in  beds  of  greater  or  less 
thickness,  and  they  are  said  to  be  thick-bedded  or  thin- 
bedded.  In  some  cases  the  beds  are  so  thick  and  the  stone 
of  such  a  uniform  texture,  that  the  stone  can  be  worked 
equally  well  in  all  directions,  and  is  known  as  freestone. 
When  fine-grained  it  is  often  designated  as  liver-rock.  A 
laminated  structure  is  common,  and  especially  in  the  thin 
strata  or  when  the  stone  is  micaceous.  When  the  beds  can 
be  split  into  thin  slabs  along  planes  parallel  to  the  bedding 
it  is  called  a  flagstone.  A  less  common  structural  character 
is  what  is  termed  lenticular  or  wedge-shaped,  in  which  the 
upper  and  under  surfaces  lack  parallelism,  and  the  beds 
wedge  out.  It  makes  the  quarrying  more  difficult,  and  pro-, 
duces  more  waste  material. 

These  variations  in  the  nature  of  the  component  grains, 
and  binding  material,  in  their  arrangement  and  in  the  forms 
of  bedding,  produce  a  great  variety  of  stone,  and  the  grada¬ 
tions  from  one  to  another  are  slight.  The  hardness, 
strength,  beauty  and  durability  are  determined  by  these 
varying  elements  of  constitution.  The  hardness  depends 
upon  the  quartz  and  the  strength  of  the  cement  holding  the 
grains  or  fragments  together.  Without  the  cement,  or  in 


*W.  G.  Mann,  Quart.  Jour.  Geol.  Soc.,  Vol.  xxiv,  p.  355. 

4 


21 6 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


the  loosely  aggregated  stone  the  grains  are  readily  torn  apart, 
and  the  mass  falls  with  a  blow, — a  heap  of  sand.  Generally 
the  more  siliceous  the  stone  and  the  cement,  the  greater  the 
degree  of  hardness  and  strength.  The  size,  color  and  ar¬ 
rangement  of  the  component  grains  are  the  elements  which 
affect  the  appearance  and  give  beauty  to  the  sandstone. 
The  durability  is  connected  intimately  with  the  physical 
constitution  and  the  chemical  composition.  As  a  rule 
calcareous  and  clayey  cementing  materials  are  not  as 
enduring  as  the  siliceous  and  ferruginous.  The  stone  best 
resisting  the  action  of  the  atmospheric  agencies  is  that 
in  which  the  quartz  is  cemented  by  a  siliceous  paste,  or 
in  which  the  close-grained  mass  approaches  in  texture  a 
quartzite. 

The  presence  of  minerals  liable  to  decomposition,  as 
feldspar,  highly  kaolinized,  of  mica,  marcasite,  and  pyrite,  of 
calcite  in  quantity,  and  clays,  affects  the  durability  and  tends 
to  its  destruction. 

Sandstones  are  classified  according  to  their  geological  age 
also.  They  are  found  occurring  in  all  the  series,  from  the 
oldest  to  the  most  recent  formations.  And  those  of  a  given 
age  are  generally  marked  by  characteristic  properties,  which 
serve  for  their  identification,  aside  from  the  fossil  organic 
remains  by  which  their  exact  position  in  the  geological  series 
is  fixed.  This  persistence  in  characters  is  exemplified  in  the 
Medina  sandstones  of  the  state,  in  the  blue-stone  of  the 
Hudson  river  valley,  and  in  those  of  the  Triassic  age  or 
new  red  sandstone. 

Sandstones  are  found  occurring  in  workable  quantity  in 
all  the  greater  divisions  of  the  state,  excepting  the  Adiron¬ 
dack  region,  and  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island.* 

Quarries  have  not  however  been  opened  everywhere  in 
the  sandstone  formations,  because  of  the  abundant  sup¬ 
plies  of  superior  stone  from  favorably  situated  localities. 

*  There  are  isolated  outcrops  of  brown  sandstone  and  ferruginous  conglomerate  on 
Long  Island,  but  not  of  any  considerable  extent  or  importance. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  21/ 

There  are,  in  consequence,  large  sandstone  areas  and  dis¬ 
tricts  in  which  there  is  an  absence  of  local  development,  or 
abandoned  enterprises  mark  a  change  in  conditions,  which 
has  affected  injuriously  the  quarry  industry  in  them. 

Following  the  geological  order  of  arrangement  and  begin¬ 
ning  with  the  Potsdam  sandstone,  the  several  quarry  dis¬ 
tricts  are  here  reviewed  briefly. 

Potsdam  Sandstone 

This  formation  is  the  oldest  in  which,  in  this  state,  sand¬ 
stone  is  quarried.* 

The  bottom  beds  are  a  fine,  siliceous  conglomerate  ;  above 
are  sandstones  and  in  thin  beds  generally.  It  is  gray-white 
yellow,  brown  and  red  in  color.  In  texture  it  varies  from  a 
strong,  compact  quartzitic  rock  to  a  loosely-coherent,  coarse- 
granular  mass,  which  crumbles  at  the  touch. 

Outcrops  of  limited  area  occur  in  Orange  and  Dutchess 
counties,  and  in  the  Mohawk  valley.  In  the  Champlain 
valley  the  formation  is  well  developed  at  Fort  Ann,  White¬ 
hall,  Port  Henry  and  Keeseville,  and  quarries  are  opened  at 
these  localities.  The  stone  is  a  hard,  quartzose  rock,  and 
in  thin  beds.  North  of  the  Adirondacks  the  formation 
stretches  westward  from  Lake  Champlain  to  the  St.  Law¬ 
rence  ;  and  there  are  quarries  in  the  towns  of  Malone,  Bangor 
and  Moira  in  Franklin  county;  in  Potsdam  and  Hammond 
in  St.  Lawrence  county;  and,  in  Clayton,  Jefferson  county. 
In  parts  of  Clinton  county  the  stone  is  too  friable  for 
building  uses. 

The  most  extensive  openings  are  near  Potsdam,  and  the 
stone  is  hard,  compact  and  even-grained,  and  pink  to  red  in 
color.  Some  of  it  has  a  laminated  structure  and  striped 
appearance.  It  is  an  excellent  building  stone  and  is  widely 
known  and  esteemed  for  its  beauty  and  durability. 

*  Some  of  the  sandstones  east  of  the  Hudson  and  in  the  Taghanic  range  may  belong 
to  the  Lower  Cambrian.  See  Am.  Jour,  of  Science,  iii  series,  vol.  35,  pp.  399-401. 
But  there  are  no  quarries  opened  in  these  localities. 

28 


218 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


The  Hammond  quarries  produce  a  gray  to  red  stone, 
nearly  all  of  whose  output  is  cut  into  paving  blocks  and 
street  material. 

Hudson  River  Group 

The  rocks  of  this  group  crop  out  in  Orange  county, 
north-west  of  the  Highlands  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Hud¬ 
son  river  northward  to  the  Champlain  valley  in  Washing¬ 
ton  county.  From  the  Hudson  westward  the  Mohawk 
valley  is  partly  occupied  by  them.  The  belt  increases  in 
breadth,  thence  in  a  north-west  course  across  Oneida, 
Oswego  and  Lewis  counties,  and  continues  to  Lake  Ontario. 

The  rocks  consist  of  shales  and  slates,  sandstones  and 
siliceous  conglomerates.  The  slates  are  noticed  under  the 
heading  slates,  and  in  the  notes  on  quarry  districts. 

The  sandstones  are  generally  fine-grained  and  of  light 
gray  or  greenish-gray  color.  They  are  often  argillaceous  and 
not  adapted  for  building  purposes.  But  the  even-bedded 
and  well-marked  jointed  structure  makes  the  quarrying 
comparatively  easy,  and  the  nearness  to  lines  of  transporta¬ 
tion,  and  to  the  cities  of  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  valleys 
have  stimulated  the  opening  of  quarries  at  many  points. 

For  common  rubble  work*  and  for  local  uses  the  quarries 
in  this  formation  have  furnished  a  large  amount  of  stone. 
The  more  important  quarrying  centers  are  now  at  Rhine- 
cliff  on  the  Hudson,  New  Baltimore  and  Troy,  in  the 
Hudson  valley  ;  at  Aqueduct,  Schenectady  and  Duanes- 
burgh,  Schenectady  county;  Frankfort  Hill,  Oneida  county; 
and  in  the  town  of  Orwell,  Otsego  county. 

These  quarries  have  a  local  market  and  do  not  supply 
much,  if  any,  stone  to  distant  points.  And  nearly  all  of 
the  stone  is  used  in  foundation  and  common  wall  work. 

Oneida  Conglomerate 

This  formation  is  developed  to  its  greatest  thickness  in 
the  Shawangunk  mountain  in  Orange  and  Ulster  counties. 

*  Prof.  Amos  Eaton  gave  the  name  of  “rubble  stone  ”  to  the  sandstone  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  formation. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  219 


It  is  recognized  in  the  Bellevale  and  Skunnemunk  moun¬ 
tains,  also  in  Orange  county.  In  the  central  part  of  the 
state  it  is  traced  westward  in  a  narrow  belt  from  Herkimer 
county  into  Oneida  county.  The  prevailing  rocks  are  gray 
and  reddish-gray,  siliceous  conglomerates  and  sandstones, 
which  are  noted  for  their  hardness  and  durability.  The 
cementing  material  is  siliceous.  The  jagged  edges  and 
angular  blocks  and  the  polished  and  grooved  surfaces  of 
the  glaciated  ledges,  so  common  on  the  Shawangunk  range, 
afford  the  best  proof  of  the  durable  nature  of  these  rocks. 
The  bottom  beds,  near  the  slate,  contain  some  pyrite.  No 
attempt  has  been  made  to  open  quarries  for  stone,  excepting 
at  a  few  localities  for  occasional  use  in  common  wall  work. 
The  grit  rock  was  formerly  quarried  near  the  Esopus  creek 
in  Ulster  county  for  millstones.* 

The  accessibility  of  the  outcrops  to  the  New  York,  Lake 
Erie  and  Western  R.  R.,  the  N.  Y.,  Ontario  &  Western  R. 
R.,  the  West  Shore  R.  R.,  and  the  Del.  &  Hud.  Canal  lines 
is  an  advantage,  as  well  as  the  comparative  nearness  to  New 
York.  And  no  other  formation  in  the  state  exhibits  in  its 
outcrops  better  evidence  of  ability  to  resist  weathering 
agents. 

Medina  Sandstone 

The  Medina  sandstone  is  next  above  the  Oneida  conglom¬ 
erate.  It  is  recognized  in  the  red  and  gray  sandstones 
and  the  red  and  mottled  (red  and  green)  shales  of  the 
Shawangunk  and  Skunnemunk  mountains  in  Orange  county. 
A  large  amount  of  the  red  sandstone  has  been  quarried  on 
the  north  end  of  the  Skunnemunk  range,  in  the  town  of 
Cornwall,  for  bridge  work  on  the  railroads  which  cross  the 
range  near  the  quarry. 

The  red  sandstone  is  seen  exposed  in  the  cuts  of  the  Erie 
Railway  northeast  of  Port  Jervis.  This  formation  reappears 
in  Oswego  county,  and  thence  west  to  the  Niagara  river  in 
a  belt  bordering  Lake  Ontario. 


*Wm.  W.  Mather.  Geology  of  the  First  Geological  District,  Albany,  1843,  p.  357. 


220 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Prof.  Hall  describes  it  as  follows:  “  The  mass  is  usually 
a  red  or  slightly  variegated  sandstone,  solid  and  coherent 
in  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  district,  becoming  friable 
and  marly  in  the  western  extension,  and  admitting  an  inter¬ 
calated  mass  of  gray  quartzose  sandstone,  which  contains 
marine  shells ;  while  in  the  red  portions  are  rarely  found 
other  than  marine  vegetables  or  fucoids.”* 

Quartz  is  the  principal  mineral  constitutent,  associated 
with  some  kaolinized  feldspar.  The  cementing  material  is 
mainly  oxide  of  iron  with  less  carbonate  of  lime.  The  stone 
is  even-bedded  and  the  strata  dip  gently  southward.  The 
prevailing  systems  of  vertical  joints,  generally  at  right 
angles  to  one  another,  divide  the  beds  into  blocks,  facilitating 
the  labor  of  quarrying. 

Quarries  have  been  opened  at  Fulton,  Granby  and  Oswego 
in  Oswego  county;  at  several  points  in  Wayne  county  ;  at 
Rochester  and  on  the  Irondequoit  creek,  and  at  Rrockport, 
Monroe  county ;  at  Holley,  Hulberton,  Hindsburgh,  Albion, 
Medina  and  Shelby  Basin  in  Orleans  county  ;  and  at  Lock- 
port  and  Lewiston  in  Niagara  county.  The  Medina  sand¬ 
stone  district  proper  is  restricted  to  the  group  of  quarries 
from  Brockport  west  to  Lockport. 

The  leading  varieties  of  stone  are  known  as  the  Medina 
red  stone,  the  white  or  gray  Medina,  and  the  variegated 
(red  and  white)  or  spotted.  The  quarries  in  this  district 
are  worked  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  their  equipment  is 
adequate  to  a  large  annual  production.  The  aggregate 
output  is  larger  and  more  valuable  in  dimension  stone  for 
dressing  than  that  of  any  other  quarry  district  in  the  state. 
And,  including  the  stone  for  street  work,  the  total  value  is 
greater  than  that  obtained  from  the  stone  of  any  other 
geological  formation  in  the  state.  The  stone  has  gained 
a  well-deserved  reputation  for  its  value  as  a  beautiful  and 
durable  building  material ;  and  its  more  general  employment 
both  in  construction  and  in  paving  is  much  to  be  desired. 


*  Survey  of  the  Fourth  Geological  District  by  James  Hall,  Albany,  1843,  p.  34. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  221 


The  extent  of  the  outcrops  offers  additional  sites  for  quarry¬ 
ing  operations,  and  the  greater  use  of  this  stone,  and  the 
development  of  the  producing  capacity  of  the  district  are 
here  suggested. 

Clinton  Group 

The  rocks  of  this  group  are  shales,  thin  beds  of  limestone 
and  shaly  sandstones.  They  crop  out  in  a  narrow  belt 
from  Herkimer  county  west  to  the  Niagara  river  and  bor¬ 
dering  the  Medina  sandstone  on  the  south.  Sandstone  for 
building  has  been  quarried  in  the  southern  part  of  Herki¬ 
mer  county ;  at  Clinton,  near  Vernoa  and  at  Higginsville 
in  Oneida  county,  from  this  formation.  The  nearness  of 
the  Medina  sandstone,  with  its  more  accessible  quarries  and 
superior  stone,  has  prevented  the  more  extensive  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  quarrying  industry  in  the  sandstone  of  the 
Clinton  group. 

Oriskany  Sandstone 

The  Oriskany  sandstone  formation  is  best  developed  in 
Oneida  and  Otsego  counties.  The  rock  is  hard,  siliceous 
and  cherty  in  places,  and  generally  too  friable  to  make  a 
good  building  stone.  And  no  quarries  of  more  than  a  local 
importance  are  known  in  it. 

Caudi  Galli  Grit  and  Schoharie  Grit 

These  rocks  are  limited  to  Schoharie  and  Albany  coun¬ 
ties  and  to  a  very  narrow  belt  which  stretches  south  and 
thence  south-west  to  Ulster  county.  The  Caudi  Galli  sand¬ 
stones  are  argillaceous  and  calcareous  and  are  not  durable. 
The  Schoharie  Grit  is  generally  a  fine-grained,  calcareous 
sand-rock  which  also  is  unsuited  for  building.  Quarries  in 
these  rocks  can  have  local  use  only. 

Ma.rcellus  Shale 

As  its  name  implies  this  formation  is  characterized  by 
shaly  rocks,  which  are  not  adapted  to  building.  The 


222 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


abundance  of  good  building  stone  in  the  next  geological 
member  below  it  —  the  Corniferous  limestone  —  whose  out¬ 
crop  borders  it  on  the  north  throughout  the  central  and 
western  parts  of  the  state,  also  prevents  any  use  which 
might  be  made  of  its  stone.  The  single  quarry  in  it  is  at 
Chapinville,  Ontario  county. 

Hamilton  Group 

The  rocks  of  the  Hamilton  group  crop  out  in  a  narrow 
belt  which  runs  from  the  Delaware  river,  in  a  north-east 
course,  across  Sullivan  and  Ulster  counties  to  the  Hudson 
valley  near  Kingston  ;  thence,  north,  in  the  foot-hills,  bor¬ 
dering  the  Catskills  to  Albany  county  ;  then,  bending  to  the 
north-west,  and  west  across  the  Helderberg  mountains  into 
Schoharie  county;  thence,  increasing  in  width,  through 
Otsego,  Madison  and  Onondaga  counties,  forming  the  upper 
part  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Chenango  watersheds  ;  thence 
west,  across  Cayuga,  Seneca,  Ontario,  Livingston,  Genesee 
and  Erie  counties  to  Lake  Erie.  In  this  distance  there  is 
some  variation  in  composition  and  texture.  In  the  western 
and  central  parts  of  the  state  there  is  an  immense  develop¬ 
ment  of  shales  and  the  few  quarries  in  the  sandstones  refer¬ 
able  to  this  group,  are  unimportant.*  In  the  Helderbergs, 
in  the  Hudson  valley  and  thence,  south-west,  to  the  Dela¬ 
ware  river,  the  sandstones  predominate  and  all  of  the  beds 
are  more  sandy  than  at  the  west.  And  there  is  a  great  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  bluish-gray,  hard,  compact,  and  even- 
bedded  sandstone,  which  is  known  as  “  Hudson  river  blue- 
stone,”  and  is  used  so  extensively  as  flagging.  Some  of  the 
thicker  beds  yield  stone  for  building  also.  The  sandstone 
occurs  interbedded  irregularly  with  shales  at  most  localities. 
The  blue-stone  or  flag-stone  beds  are  generally  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  Hamilton  and  they  continue  upwards  in  the 
horizon  of  the  Oneonta  sandstone,  which  may  be  the  equiv- 

*Geology  of  New  York.  Survey  of  the  Fourth  Geological  District  by  James 
Hall,  Albany,  1843,  pp.  184-5. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  223 


alent  of  the  Portage  in  the  western  part  of  the  state.*  The 
number  of  quarries  in  this  blue-stone  district,  in  Sullivan, 
Ulster,  Greene,  Albany  and  Schoharie  counties  is  large  and 
can  be  increased  indefinitely,  as  nearly  the  whole  area 
of  the  formation  appears  to  be  capable  of  producing  stone 
for  flagging  or  for  building.  The  difficulty  of  indicating 
the  division  line  between  the  Hamilton  and  the  Oneonta 
and  the  Hamilton  and  the  Portage  group  of  rocks  makes  it 
impossible  to  refer  to  localities  more  particularly.  The 
quarries  near  Cooperstown,  in  the  lake  region,  particularly 
at  Atwater,  Trumansburgh,  Watkins  Glen  and  Penn  Yan 
belong  to  the  Hamilton  group. 

Portage  Group 

As  stated  above,  the  limits  of  the  Oneonta  at  the  east 
cannot  be  indicated  and  the  flag-stone  beds  of  the  Hudson 
valley  and  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  continue  up  into 
the  Oneonta  sandstone  horizon.  Many  of  the  quarries  are 
in  the  latter  formation.  The  more  western  and  north-west¬ 
ern  and  higher  quarries  are  in  it ;  and  some  of  the  Chenango 
county  quarries  also. 

The  Portage  rocks  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  have 
been  divided  into  shales  at  the  base ;  then  shales  and  flag¬ 
stones ;  and  the  Portage  sandstone  at  the  top.  In  the  last 
division  thick  beds  with  little  shale  are  marks  of  this  hori¬ 
zon.  And  the  stone  is  generally  fine-grained.  The  quarries 
near  Portage  and  near  Warsaw  are  in  it ;  also  the  quarries 
at  Laona  and  Westfield  in  Chautauqua  county. 

Although  not  of  as  great  extent  in  its  outcrop  as  the 
Hamilton  group  the  Portage  rocks  are  developed  to  a  thick¬ 
ness  of  several  hundreds  of  feet  along  the  Genesee  river  at 
Mount  Morris  and  at  Portage;  and  form  a  belt  having  a 
breadth  of  several  miles  through  Tompkins,  Schuyler, 
Yates,  Ontario  and  Livingston  counties,  and  thence  west  to 

*  Paleontology  of  New  York,  vol.  v,  part  I.  Lamellibranchiata  II,  pp.  517-8. 

5 


224 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Lake  Erie.*  And  the  formation  is  capable  of  supplying 
an  immense  amount  of  good  building  stone  and  flagging 
stone  throughout  its  undeveloped  territory. 

Chemung  Group 

The  rocks  of  the  Chemung  group  crop  out  in  the  southern 
tier  of  counties,  from  Lake  Erie  eastward  to  the  Susque¬ 
hanna.  The  shales  are  in  excess  of  the  sandstones  in  many 
outcrops,  and  there  is  less  good  building  stone  than  in  the 
Portage  horizon.  The  variation  in  color  and  texture  is 
necessarily  great  in  the  extensive  area  occupied  by  the  Che¬ 
mung  rocks,  but  the  sandstones  can  be  described  as  thin- 
bedded,  generally  intercalated  with  shaly  strata,  and  of  a 
light-gray  color,  often  with  a  tinge  of  green  or  olive-colored. 
The  outcropping  ledges  weather  to  a  brownish  color.f 
Owing  to  the  shaly  nature  of  much  of  the  sandstone  of  the 
Chemung  group,  the  selection  of  stone  demands  care,  and 
the  location  of  quarries  where  good  stone  may  be  found  is 
attended  with  the  outlay  of  time  and  money,  and  with  great 
chances  of  possible  failures.  Quarries  have  been  opened 
near  towns  and  where  there  is  a  market  for  ordinary  grades 
of  common  wall  stone,  and  also  for  cut  stone,  but  the  larger 
part  of  their  product  is  put  into  retaining  walls.  At  El¬ 
mira  and  Corning  good  stone  has  been  obtained,  which  is 
expensive  to  dress,  and  does  not  compete  for  fine  work  with 
sandstones  from  districts  outside  of  the  state.  The  quar¬ 
ries  at  Waverly,  Owego,  Elmira  and  Corning,  and  nearly 
all  of  the  quarries  in  Allegany,  Cattaraugus  and  Chautauqua 
counties  are  in  the  Chemung  sandstone. 

Catskill  Group 

As  implied  in  the  name,  this  formation  is  developed  in 
the  Catskill  mountain  plateau  in  the  south-eastern  part  of 
the  state.  Sandstones  and  siliceous  conglomerates  predom- 

*  Report  of  Prof.  Hall  above  cited,  pp.  238-9. 

\  Prof.  Hall’s  report  on  Fourth  District  (cited  above),  pp.  251,  252. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  225 


inate  over  the  shales.  The  thicker  beds  of  sandstones  are 
generally  marked  by  oblique  lamination  and  cross-bedding, 
which  make  it  difficult  and  expensive  to  work  into  dimension 
blocks.  Except  for  flagging  and  stone  for  local  use  not 
much  is  quarried.  There  are  no  large  towns  in  the  district, 
and  consequently  the  demand  is  light.  There  are  however 
some  good  quarries,  which  are  worked  for  flagging,  chiefly 
along  the  N.  Y.,  O.  &  W.  R.  R.  and  the  U.  &  D.  R.  R. 
lines  in  Ulster  and  Delaware  counties;  and  in  the  Catskills, 
in  Greene  county  there  are  quarries  in  Lexington,  Jewett, 
Windham,  Hunter  and  Prattsville. 

Triassic  Formation 

This  formation,  which  is  known  as  New  Red  Sandstone, 
or,  locally,  as  the  red  sandstone,  is  limited  to  a  triangular 
area  in  Rockland  county,  between  Stony  Point  on  the 
Hudson  and  the  New  Jersey  line  ;  and  to  a  small  outcrop 
on  the  north  shore  of  Staten  Island. 

The  sandstones  are  both  shaly  and  siliceous,  and  the 
varieties  grade  into  one  another.  Conglomerates  of  varie¬ 
gated  shades  of  color  also  occur,  interbedded  with  the  shales 
and  sandstones.  And  formerly  these  conglomerates  were 
in  favor  for  the  construction  of  furnace  hearths.  They  are 
not  now  quarried.  The  prevailing  color  of  the  sandstone  is 
dark  red  to  brown,  whence  the  name  “  brownstone.”  In 
texture  there  is  a  wide  variation,  from  fine  conglomerates, 
in  which  the  rounded  grains  are  somewhat  loosely  aggre¬ 
gated,  to  the  fine,  shaly  rock  and  the  “  liver  rock  ”  of  the 
quarrymen.  Oxide  of  iron  and  some  carbonate  of  lime  are 
the  cementing  materials  in  these  sandstones. 

The  well-known  Massachusetts  Longmeadow  sandstone, 
and  the  Connecticut  brownstone,  are  obtained  from  quar¬ 
ries  in  the  Connecticut  valley  region,  and  of  the  same 
geological  horizon.  The  Little  Falls,  Belleville  and  Newark 
freestones  are  from  the  same  formation  in  its  south-west 
extension  into  New  Jersey. 

29 


226 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Quarries  were  opened  in  this  sandstone  more  than  a 
century  ago,  and  many  of  the  old  houses  of  Rockland 
county  are  built  of  this  stone.  Prof.  Mather  reported 
thirty-one  quarries  on  the  bank  of  the  Hudson  near  Nyack.* 
The  principal  market  was  New  York  city,  and  the  stone 
was  sold  for  flagging,  house  trimmings  and  common  walls. 
The  Nyack  quarries  have  been  abandoned,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  as  the  ground  has  become  valuable  for  villa  sites 
and  town  lots.  There  are  small  quarries  at  Suffern,  near 
Congers  Station,  near  New  City,  and  west  of  Haverstraw, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Torne  mountain.  They  are  worked 
irregularly  and  for  local  supplies  of  stone.  The  stone  is 
sometimes  known  as  “  Nyack  stone,”  also  as  “  Haverstraw 
stone.” 

Glacial  Drift 

This  formation,  consisting  of  unsorted  clays,  sands,  grav¬ 
els,  cobbles  and  boulders,  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  state. 
The  nature  of  the  imbedded  stone  varies  greatly  both  as  to 
variety  and  amount.  In  places  the  deposits  are  full  of  large 
blocks  of  stone  and  of  more  or  less  rounded  and  scratched 
boulders ;  in  other  localities  the  hard,  quartzose  cobbles 

and  small  boulders  predominate.  In  the  sandstone  districts 
of  the  southern  and  western  parts  of  the  state  the  surface 

deposits  of  glacial  drift  contain  much  sandstone,  as  in 
the  Medina  sandstone  belt,  the  Hudson  river  blue-stone 
territory  and  the  red  sandstones  at  Haverstraw  and  Nyack. 
In  the  Highlands  and  in  the  Adirondacks  the  rounded, 
crystalline,  granitoid  and  gneissic  rocks  predominate.  On 
Long  Island  the  terminal  moraine  includes  a  great  amount 
of  stone  and  of  many  kinds. 

The  cobblestones  were  formerly  used  for  paving  roadways, 
but  this  kind  of  pavement  is  no  longer  laid.  From  the  fact 
of  the  stone  being  picked  off  the  fields  in  the  clearing  of 
land  for  tillage,  the  stone  of  the  drift  has  been  known  as 

*Wm.  W.  Mather.  Geology  of  the  First  Geological  District,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  1843, 
p.  287. 


GEOLOGICAL  POSITION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  227 


“field  stone;”  and  they  were  used  in  the  earlier  construc¬ 
tions  for  walls,  foundations  and  buildings,  in  localities 
where  no  quarries  had  been  opened,  and  even  before  resort 
was  had  to  quarry  stone. 

Some  of  the  oldest  houses  on  the  western  end  of  Long 
Island,  and  in  the  Hudson  river  counties  are  built  of  such 
field  stone.  At  Yonkers  the  excavations  for  foundations 
and  in  street  grading  afford  an  abundant  supply  of  stone  for 
common  wall  work.  In  parts  of  Brooklyn  the  drift  fur¬ 
nishes  a  great  deal  of  stone  in  the  shape  of  huge  boulders. 

The  stone  of  the  drift  is  generally  hard  and  durable, 
having  been  subjected  to  the  wear  of  rough  transportation, 
and  exposed  to  the  weather  for  ages.  The  economic  use 
of  the  surface  stone  of  the  drift  in  constructive  work,  where 
they  can  be  laid  up  in  walls,  is  a  desirable  utilization  of 
what  is  still  in  many  parts  of  the  state  worse  than  waste  —  a 
nuisance  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  This  formation  cannot 
however  be  considered  as  one  of  the  important  sources  of 
stone  in  the  quarry  industry,  although  capable  of  yielding  a 
great  deal  of  rough  stone.  It  will  no  doubt  do  so  in  the 
further  clearing  and  improvement  of  the  country. 


228 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


III 

DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND 

QUARRIES 

I.  Crystalline  Rocks 

New  York,  Manhattan  Island. —  The  outcropping  ledges 
of  gneissic  rocks,  from  29th  street  (on  the  west  side)  to  the 
Spuyten  Duyvil  creek,  and  from  about  16th  street  north¬ 
wards,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  have  been  cut 
through  and  graded  down  in  so  many  places  that  a  large 
amount  of  stone  has  been  furnished,  ready  for  laying  up 
foundations  and  for  common  wall  work.  These  gneisses 
are  generally  bluish-gray  in  color,  medium  fine-crystalline, 
highly  micaceous  and  schistose  in  structure.  The  beds  are 
thin  and  tilted  at  a  high  angle  and  in  places  are  in  a  verti¬ 
cal  position.  The  more  micaceous  rock  is  apt  to  flake 
and  disintegrate  on  long  exposure,  especially  when  the 
blocks  are  set  on  edge.  The  more  feldspathic  stone  of  the 
granitic  veins  and  dikes  and  the  more  hornblendic  strata 
afford  a  better  building  material. 

The  Croton  Reservoir,  5th  avenue  and  42d  street  and  St. 
Matthew’s  Lutheran  church,  Broome  street  are  construc¬ 
tions  of  the  best  of  the  island  gneiss.* 

The  gneissic  rocks  have  been  quarried  extensively  in  the 
23d  and  24th  wards,  New  York  city,  and  in  the  adjacent 
southern  towns  of  Westchester  county. 

The  gray  variety  of  quartzite  gneiss  has  been  most 
largely  employed  for  the  better  class  of  building.  Geo¬ 
logically  these  gneisses  of  New  York  city  and  the  West¬ 
chester  county  quarries  are  younger  than  the  Laurentian 

*For  additional  examples  of  the  New  York  island  gneiss  see  tabular  statement  in 
Part  IV  of  this  report. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  229 

rocks  of  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson  and  belong  to  what 
has  been  designated  the  “  Manhattan  group.”* 

New  York  City,  Fordham. —  A  micaceous  gneiss  is  quar¬ 
ried  on  the  property  of  St.  John’s  College,  on  the  corner  of 
the  Boulevard  and  Pelham  avenue.  It  is  of  a  bluish-gray 
shade  of  color,  and  is  known  locally  as  “  bluestone.”  The 
new  buildings  of  the  college  are  constructed  of  this 
stone. 

Hartsdale,  Westchester  County. —  Gneissic  rock  is  quar¬ 
ried  near  Hartsdale  station  on  the  Harlem  railroad  for  the 
local  market.  The  county  buildings  at  White  Plains  are 
built  of  this  stone. 

South-east  of  White  Plains,  gneiss  is  quarried  and  an 
example  in  construction  is  seen  in  the  M.  E.  church  on  the 
main  street. 

Scarsdale,  Westchester  County. —  The  Seely  quarries  are 
a  half  mile  west-north-west  of  the  Scarsdale  station,  and 
near  the  road  to  Greenville.  The  stone  obtained  from  this 
locality  consists  of  feldspar,  quartz,  hornblende  and  a  little 
black  mica,  and  these  minerals  in  parallel  lines  give  it  a 
foliated  aspect.  The  exposed  ledges  near  the  quarry  are 
firm  and  solid  and  show  very  little  alteration  due  to 
weathering.  This  stone  has  been  used  in  bridge  work,  for 
the  Bronx  river  aqueduct,  and  also  in  the  Williams  Bridge 
reservoir  gate-house. 

Hastings,  Westchester  County — There  are  three  quarries 
in  the  vicinity  of  Hastings.  One  is  owned  and  worked  by  the 
N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  Co.,  one  mile  south  of  the  railroad 
station.  The  Munson  quarry  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
east-south-east  of  the  village,  and  adjoining  it  .on  the  same 
ridge  is  the  Ferguson  quarry. 

The  stone  of  these  quarries  consists  of  orthoclase,  quartz, 
hornblende  and  biotite,  arranged  generally  in  parallel  lines 
or  thin  layers,  which  gives  the  rock  a  gray  and  striped  ap- 

*  Metamorpfiic'Strata  of  Southeastern  New  York,  by  F.  J.  H.  Merrill,  Am.  Jour, 
of  Science,  Vol.  xxxix,  pp.  389-390. 


230 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


pearance.  The  product  is  shipped  to  New  York  city  for 
foundation  walls,  and  is  used  for  common  wall  work  in  the 
adjacent  country. 

Yonkers,  Westchester  County. —  The  Valentine  quarry 
opened  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  two  miles  south-east  of  Y onkers, 
and  on  the  Mount  Vernon  road,  is  worked  at  long  intervals. 
The  stone  is  fine-grained,  a  mixture  of  feldspar,  quartz,  and 
a  little  hornblende. 

Tarrytown,  Westchester  County. — The  old  Beekman 
quarry,  one  and  a  quarter  miles  north  of  the  station,  and  at 
the  side  of  the  railroad  track  was  worked  largely  in  former 
years. 

Kensico,  Westchester  County. — A  gneissic  rock  has  been 
quarried  extensively  on  the  east  side  of  the  Bronx  river 
reservoir,  and  used  in  the  construction  of  the  reservoir 
dam. 

Union  Valley,  Putnam  County. — The  quarries  of  Jackson 
&  E.  Ganung  are  located  four  miles  from  Croton  Falls,  and 
in  the  town  of  Carmel.  The  stone  has  a  striped  appearance, 
due  to  black  mica  and  white  feldspar  alternating  in  thin 
layers.  Its  main  use  is  for  posts  and  foundations  ;  some  of 
it  has  been  used  for  monuments  and  buildings. 

Ramapo,  Rockland  County. — The  quarry  of  Henry  L. 
Pierson  is  in  the  hill-side  near  the  N.  Y.,  L.  E.  &  W.  R.  R., 
south  of  the  village.  The  stone  is  a  quartz-syenite,  consist¬ 
ing  of  orthoclase,  quartz  and  hornblende.  It  is  especially 
suited  for  heavy  masonry  on  account  of  its  strength  and  the 
large  size  of  blocks  which  can  be  obtained.  Some  of  this 
stone  has  been  used  for  monumental  work,  and  some  for 
the  Erie  railway  bridges. 

Suffern,  Rockland  County. —  Granite  for  cemetery  posts 
and  monumental  bases  has  been  quarried  in  a  small  way 
from  ledges  on  the  road-side  west  of  Suffern  station.  It 
is  greenish-gray  in  color,  hard  to  cut  and  dress,  but  is 
durable. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  23  I 


Peekskill,  Westchester  County. — The  granite  quarry  two 
miles  north-west  of  Peekskill  on  the  bank  of  the  river  is 
idle. 

Iona  Island,  Rockland  County. — There  is  a  large  quarry  on 
Iona  Island,  owned  by  Daniel  E.  Donovan,  whence  stone 
is  obtained  for  heavy  masonry  and  for  macadam  material. 
A  large  amount  is  sold  annually  for  road-making.  Some 
of  the  stone  used  in  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  bridge 
came  from  this  quarry. 

West  Point,  Orange  County. — West  of  the  military  acad¬ 
emy  buildings  a  granitoid  gneiss  has  been  quarried  at 
several  points  for  construction  of  government  buildings. 
The  stone  occurs  in  thick  beds  and  the  solid,  outcropping 
ledges  indicate  the  durability  of  the  stone,  where  exposed  to 
the  weather.  The  library  building,  the  old  riding  academy, 
and  three  of  the  professorial  residences  and  the  long  lines 
of  retaining  walls  are  constructed  of  the  stone  taken  from 
these  quarries. 

Storm-king  Mountain. —  The  granite  quarry  at  the  south¬ 
eastern  face  of  Storm-king  mountain,  near  the  West  Shore 
railroad  track,  and  a  half  mile  south  of  Cornwall  station, 
has  not  been  in  operation  for  several  years. 

Break-neck  Mountain  Quarry —  Granite  has  been  quarried 
at  several  points  on  the  south-west  side  of  this  mountain 
and  north  of  Cold  Spring.  The  quarry  sites  extend  nearly 
a  mile  back  from  the  river  ;  and  the  work  has  been  to  detach 
blocks  of  large  size,  by  blasting,  and  then  to  break  them  up 
into  building  stones  or  paving  blocks  as  called  for.  The 
Hudson  River  Broken  Stone  and  Supply  Company  is  now 
working  on  the  lands  of  Lewis  J.  Bailey,  producing  stone 
for  railroad  track  ballast. 

Mount  Adam,  Warwick,  Orange  County — A  granite  is 
quarried  at  a  locality,  opened  in  1889,  on  the  north  end  of 
Mount  Adam.  It  is  owned  and  worked  by  the  Mount  Adam 
Quarry  Company,  of  Middletown. 

6 


232 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Little  Falls,  Herkimer  County.  —  A  hornblendic-gneiss 
rock,  known  as  “  blue  rock,”  is  quarried  at  Little  Falls  for 
the  local  market.  It  was  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
Erie  canal,  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  in  the  R.  C.  and  the 
Pres,  churches,  besides  several  mill  and  store  buildings  in 
the  town.  The  stone  has  a  greenish-gray  color,  moderately 
fine-crystalline  texture,  and  is  made  up  of  orthoclase, 
quartz  and  hornblende.  Some  of  it  has  a  reddish  tinge,  due 
to  iron  stains. 

Granite  has  been  quarried  in  the  town  of  Wilton,  two 
miles  north  of  Saratoga,  in  the  town  of  Greenfield,  and  at 
Wolf  Creek,  in  the  town  of  Hadley.  None  of  these  quar¬ 
ries  are  worked  regularly  or  uninterruptedly. 

Adirondack  Granite  Company,  Westport,  Essex  County. — 
The  granite  quarry  has  been  abandoned,  on  Splitrock  moun¬ 
tain  near  the  lake,  and  three  miles  from  Whallonsburg. 
Very  little  stone  has  been  quarried  here  and  little  is  known 
of  it. 

Ausable  Granite,  Essex  County —  The  Ausable  granite  is 
obtained  from  quarries  on  the  north  and  west  slopes  of 
Prospect  Hill,  one  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Keeseville. 
The  principal  openings  are  the  property  of  the  Ausable 
Granite  Works,  whose  establishment  for  dressing  the  stone 
is  located  in  Keeseville.  This  stone  is  moderately  fine- 
crystalline  in  texture  and  is  composed  of  feldspar,  hypers- 
thene  and  biotite.  Small  grains  of  pyrite  and  hematite  are 
occasionally  seen  in  the  mass.  The  stone  is  hard  and  ex¬ 
pensive  to  dress  but  it  is  susceptible  of  a  high  polish  and  is 
especially  adapted  for  decorative  work  and  for  monuments. 
The  dark,  polished  surface,  with  its  chatoyant  play  of  colors, 
contrasts  well  with  the  gray,  dressed  surfaces.  The  glaci¬ 
ated  ledges  near  the  quarries  show  little  alteration  due 
to  weathering,  and  are  evidence  of  the  durability  of  the 
stone.  In  some  of  the  weathered  surfaces  the  feldspars 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  233 

appear  changed  to  kaolin,  and  the  hypersthene  is  badly 
decomposed.* 

Grindstone  Island,  Jefferson  County _ A  red  granite  is 

quarried  extensively  on  this  island  in  the  St.  Lawrence 
river,  north-west  of  Clayton.  There  are  many  outcrops, 
especially  on  the  western  side  of  the  island,  and  small 
quarries  have  been  opened  at  more  than  twenty  different 
points. 

There  are  three  large  quarries  which  are  worked  exten¬ 
sively  and  with  little  interruption.  The  granite  of  these 
quarries  is  rather  coarse-crystalline,  red  to  bright  red  in 
color  and  consists  of  flesh-colored  feldspar,  quartz  and  mica, 
with  very  little  magnetite  as  an  accessory  constituent.  Its 
resemblance  to  the  Scotch  granite  has  given  it  the  name 
of  “International  Scotch  granite.”  Examined  under  the 
microscope  the  feldspars  show  kaolinization.  The  dura¬ 
bility  of  the  stone  is  witnessed  in  the  unaltered  or  scarcely 
altered  rock  which  crops  out  on  the  two  sides  of  the  quarry. 
Blocks  of  large  size  can  be  obtained  up  to  the  limit  in  hand¬ 
ling  and  shipping.  An  examination  of  a  representative 
specimen  of  this  granite  shows  that  it  has  a  specific  gravity 
of  2.713,  equivalent  to  a  weight  of  169  pounds  per  cubic 
foot.  The  absorption  test  indicated  1.55  per  cent  of  water 
absorbed.  The  loss  in  a  dilute  solution  of  sulphuric  acid 
was  0.13  per  cent.  Freezing  and  thawing  produced  no  ap¬ 
parent  change.  Exposure  to  a  temperature  of  1200  to 
1400  degrees  F.  caused  vitrifaction,  destruction  of  color 
and  impaired  the  strength  so  that  the  specimen  crumbled 

*  Tests  of  the  strength  of  this  stone  made  by  Dr.  Thos.  Egleston,  of  Columbia  College 
School  of  Mines,  show  that  it  stands  27,000  pounds  and  breaks  at  29,000  pounds  to 
the  square  inch.  Dr.  Egleston’s  series  of  tests  made  for  the  company  show  further, 
that  when  heated  to  a  bright  red  heat  by  a  blast  of  a  Bunsen  burner  the  stone  was 
not  cracked  badly;  and,  at  a  temperature  of  8oo°-i350°  F.  and  then  quenched  in 
cold  water  the  specimens  changed  in  color  but  otherwise  were  hardly  altered,  except 
at  the  highest  heat.  “The  outside  of  the  piece  was  rendered  rather  crumbly  and 
granular  *  *  *  but  the  piece  as  a  whole  was  still  hard  and  resists  moderate 

blows  of  the  hammer.”  [From  report  made  to  the  Ausable  Granite  Works.] 

30 


234 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


with  a  blow.  The  greater  part  of  the  product  of  these 
quarries  is  in  the  form  of  paving  blocks  and  is  shipped  to 
western  cities,  principally  Cincinnati  and  Chicago.  The 
International  Granite  Company  of  Montreal  uses  a  large 
amount  for  monumental  work  and  building.  Examples  of 
this  granite  can  be  seen  in  the  large  columns  of  the  Senate 
Chamber  of  the  New  Capitol,  Albany,  and  in  the  Nord- 
heimer  building  in  Montreal. 

Limestones  and  Marbles. 

Marbles. 

New  York  City — A  white,  crystalline  limestone  was 
formerly  quarried  at  Kingsbridge  and  used  in  the  con¬ 
struction  of  buildings  in  the  city.  The  same  limestone  is 
now  exposed  in  the  deep  cut,  made  for  the  ship  canal  at 
Fort  George.  Crystalline  limestone  has  been  quarried  at 
Morrisania  and  Mott  Haven  also,  but  they  can  scarcely  be 
called  marbles  in  a  proper  sense,  although  used  for  ordinary 
construction. 

Tremont,  New  York  City. —  Four  quarries  have  been 
opened  in  the  white  marble  in  Tremont,  and  worked  for 
house  trimmings  and  ordinary  construction.  The  Tremont 
marble  can  be  seen  in  the  new  buildings  of  St.  John’s 
College,  Fordham,  where  it  has  been  used  effectively  with 
the  dark-blue  gneiss.  The  output  of  these  quarries  is 
small  and  unimportant. 

Tuckahoe,  Westchester  County — The  Tuckahoe  Marble 
Company  and  the  New  York  Marble  Company  quarry  mar¬ 
ble  at  Tuckahoe.  The  first  named  company  works  what 
was  formerly  known  as  the  Young’s  quarry.  The  latter 
company  has  a  large  quarry  adjoining  it  on  the  north. 
The  stone  of  these  quarries  is  coarsely-crystalline  in  tex¬ 
ture  and  pure  white.  In  composition  it  is  a  true  dolomite. 
A  sample  from  the  New  York  Quarry  Company  (J.  M. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  235 

Masterton)  was  found  to  contain  30.63  per  cent  of  lime,  and 
20. 77  per  cent  of  magnesia,  and  0.91  per  cent  of  insoluble 
matter.  The  specific  gravity  was  2.868,  equivalent  to  178 
pounds  per  cubic  foot.  The  absorption  test  indicated  0.14 
per  cent  of  water  absorbed.  The  loss  in  weight  when  acted 
upon  by  sulphuric  acid  gas  amounted  to  0.25  per  cent. 
Freezing  and  thawing  produced  no  apparent  change.  At 
a  high  temperature  the  specimen  was  calcined  and  crumbled 
at  the  touch.  The  Tuckahoe  quarries  have  been  worked 
since  1820,  and  have  produced  a  large  aggregate  of  marble, 
which  has  been  put  in  large  and  expensive  buildings  in 
cities  along  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Boston  to  New  Orleans. 
It  is  comparatively  durable  and  resists  the  action  of  the 
weather  better  than  much  of  the  Vermont  and  the  foreign 
marbles,  which  have  been  used  in  New  York  city.  A 
noticeable  change  from  long  exposure  is  a  slight  yellowish 
shade  of  color,  which  can  be  seen  in  the  U.  S.  Assay  Office 
building,  Wall  street,  in  the  building  of  the  National  Shoe 
and  Leather  Bank,  and  in  the  houses  of  the  cardinal  and 
archbishop  on  Madison  avenue.  Some  of  the  more  promi¬ 
nent  structures  in  which  Tuckahoe  marble  has  been  used 
are  the  following:  The  U.  S.  Post-office,  U.  S.  Naval 
Observatory  and  the  Soldiers’  Home,  Washington,  D.  C.; 
the  City  Hall,  Brooklyn;  the  Stewart  buildings  on  Broad¬ 
way  and  Fifth  avenue,  New  York  ;  and  the  Sears  building, 
Vendome  Hotel  and  Revere  Bank  in  Boston.* 

Pleasantville,  Westchester  County. — The  Snowflake  Mar¬ 
ble  Company’s  quarry  is  one  mile  south-east  of  the  village 
of  Pleasantville.  This  marble  is  white  and  very  coarse- 
crystalline.  It  is  much  harder  than  the  Vermont  marbles 
and  does  not  compete  with  them  for  monumental  work. 
The  chemical  analysis  shows  it  to  be  a  dolomitic  limestone  or 
marble.  Examples  of  its  use  are  :  St.  Patrick’s  R.  C.  Cathe¬ 
dral,  Fifth  avenue,  and  the  Union  Dime  Savings  building, 

*  For  other  examples  of  Tuckahoe  marble  see  tabular  statement  in  this  report  of 
stone  used  in  New  York  city. 


236 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Sixth  avenue  and  Thirty-second  street,  New  York  city; 
also  the  M.  E,  church  in  Sing  Sing. 

Hastings,  Westchester  County. —  The  marble  quarries  near 
Hastings  produce  a  white,  fine-crystalline,  dolomitic  stone. 
They  have  been  idle  for  many  years. 

Sing  Sing,  Westchester  County. — The  crystalline  limestone 
east  of  the  state  prison  and  on  the  state  property  was  for¬ 
merly  worked  for  marble  ;  and  the  prison  buildings,  and  the 
State  Hall  at  Albany  are  built  of  stone  which  came  from 
these  quarries. 

White  limestone  in  the  Dover  Plains — Patterson  valley, 
has  been  opened  at  several  points  between  Patterson  on  the 
south  and  Dover  Plains  on  the  north,  and  a  white  marble 
has  been  obtained  and  worked  up  largely  for  monumental 
bases  and  grave-stones.  The  stone  of  these  quarries  is 
bluish-white  and  fine-crystalline  in  texture  and  is  readily 
dressed.  They  have  been  idle  for  several  years  past. 

Towner’s  Four  Corners,  Putnam  County. —  The  old  quarry 
at  this  locality  was  opened  two  years  ago  for  stone  to  be  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  Sodom  dam.  The  stone  is  gray 
and  white,  rather  coarse-crystalline  and  contains  many  crys¬ 
tals  of  white  pyroxene  scattered  through  the  mass.  The 
friable  and  decomposed  condition  of  the  ledges  near  the 
quarry  leads  to  the  belief  that  the  stone  is  not  very 
durable. 

Gouverneur,  St.  Lawrence  County. —  At  Gouverneur  there 
are  three  companies  working  marble  quarries.  The  works 
and  quarries  are  located  about  one  mile  south-west  of  the 
village  and  near  the  R.,  W.  &  O.  R.  R.  line.  There  are 
two  leading  varieties  of  stone  obtained  in  these  quarries ; 
a  light  gray,  at  the  top,  and  a  dark  blue,  at  the  bottom. 
The  latter  resembles,  when  dressed,  some  of  the  gray  gran¬ 
ites.  Both  varieties  are  coarse-crystalline  in  structure.  A 
specimen  from  the  St.  Lawrence  Marble  Company’s  quarry 
was  found  to  have  a  specific  gravity  of  2.756,  equivalent  to 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  237 


a  weight  of  171  pounds  per  cubic  foot;  51.57  per  cent  of 
lime,  3.29  per  cent  of  magnesia  and  1.29  per  cent  insoluble 
matter.  The  absorbed  water  amounted  to  1.16  per  cent. 
The  loss,  when  acted  upon  by  sulphurous  acid  gas,  was  0.15 
per  cent ;  freezing  and  thawing  produced  no  apparent 
change.  At  a  high  temperature,  1200  to  1400  degrees  the 
specimen  was  fully  calcined. 

“  The  Gouverneur  marble  was  employed  at  least  fifty  years 
ago  for  grave-stones,  and  in  the  Riverside  cemetery,  at 
Gouverneur,  these  old  grave-stones,  bearing  dates  from  1818 
onward,  can  now  be  seen.  As  compared  with  the  white 
marble  head-stones  from  Vermont  it  is  more  durable  ;  and 
there  is  not  so  luxuriant  a  growth  of  moss  and  lichen  as  on 
the  latter  stone,  but  in  the  case  of  the  older  Gouverneur 
stone  some  signs  of  decay  and  disintegration,  particularly 
on  the  tops,  are  noticeable,  and  small  pieces  can  be  chipped 
off  with  the  knife  blade.  The  durability  of  the  stone  for 
building  purposes  has  been  tested  in  some  of  the  older 
structures  in  Gouverneur.” 

The  leading  use  of  the  Gouverneur  marble  is  for  monu¬ 
ments.  A  large  amount  is  sold  for  rock-ashlar,  for  build¬ 
ings,  principally  to  western  markets.  It  may  be  seen  in 
several  business  blocks  in  Gouverneur;  Hubbard  house, 
Malone  ;  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  Canton  ;  in  the  Flower 
Memorial  chapel,  Watertown  ;  and  the  State  Asylum  for  the 
Insane  at  Ogdensburg  and  Merrick  block,  Syracuse. 

Canton,  St.  Lawrence  County — A  grayish-white  marble  is 
opened  in  this  town,  four  miles  easterly  from  Canton.  It 
has  not  been  worked  lately. 

Verd-Antique  Marble 

Thurman,  Warren  County. —  The  verd-antique  marble 
locality  is  opened  in  this  town,  eight  miles  north-west  of 
Thurman,  and  five  miles  from  Glendale  station.  The  quarry 
was  worked  for  three  years  and  then  abandoned.  The  stone 


238 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


is  of  a  yellowish-green  color  and  not  the  deep-rich  green, 
characteristic  of  precious  serpentine. 

Bolton,  Warren  County. — Localities  of  serpentine  marble 
are  known  in  this  town,  but  they  have  not  been  developed 
into  quarries. 

Port  Henry,  Essex  County. —  The  Burlington  Manufactur¬ 
ing  Company  has  a  quarry  of  verd-antique  marble  about  one- 
quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  Cheever  ore  bed.  The  stone 
is  coarse-granular,  green  and  white,  speckled,  in  color  and  is 
capable  of  taking  a  good  polish.  The  place  has  been  idle 
since  1886. 


Limestones 

Warwick,  Orange  County. — The  blue,  magnesian  limestone 
formation  here  affords  a  good  building  stone  for  the  local 
supply,  and  the  quarries  are  worked  at  intervals,  according 
to  the  demand. 

Mapes  Corner,  Orange  County — The  quarries  on  Mt. 
Lookout  near  Orange  Farm  station  of  the  Pine  Island 
Branch  railroad  furnish  stone  to  Goshen,  Chester  and  the 
adjacent  country.  The  stone  occurs  in  thick  beds  and  is 
adapted  for  massive  wall  work.  The  Presbyterian,  Metho¬ 
dist  Episcopal  and  Roman  Catholic  churches  in  Goshen  and 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  in  Chester  are  examples  in  con¬ 
struction. 

Newburgh. —  Blue  limestone  is  quarried  south-west  of  the 
city,  near  the  old  Cochecton  turnpike,  and  on  the  north 
slope  of  Snake  Hill.  It  has  been  used  largely  for  retaining 
walls  and  foundations  in  the  city.  St.  George’s  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  is  built  of  stone  from  this  range.  North 
of  the  city  there  is  a  small  quarry  on  the  river  road. 

New  Hamburgh,  Dutchess  County. —  The  quarry,  two 
miles  north  of  New  Hamburgh,  is  worked  for  bridge  stone 
for  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R,  R.  R.  Company  and  for  ballast. 

Kingston,  Ulster  County. —  The  outcrops  of  the  Onondaga 
limestone  formation  in  the  city  have  afforded  stone  for 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  239 


building  from  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  place,  and  the 
old  stone  houses  are  in  part  built  of  this  stone.  Quarries 
have  been  opened  from  the  Kingston  and  Rondout  railroad 
on  Main  street,  and  near  Union  avenue  south-west  to  the 
cemetery,  and  near  Washington  and  Pearl  streets  in  the 
western  part  of  the  city.  The  beds  are  from  two  to  eight 
feet  thick.  Two  well-marked  systems  of  vertical  joints 
divide  the  rock  into  blocks  of  a  size  convenient  for  quarry¬ 
ing.  Freshly  fractured  surfaces  of  this  limestone  are  of  a 
dark-blue  shade  ;  weathered  surfaces  are  gray,  in  some  cases 
brown-yellow.  Thin  seams  of  argillaceous  or  more  clayey 
rock,  from  one-sixteenth  to  one-fourth  of  an  inch,  alternating 
irregularly  with  the  calcareous  portions,  cause  unequal  wear 
in  exposed  faces  and  develop  lines  of  dirty  yellow  in  the 
gray  background  of  the  stone,  which  are  unsightly.  They 
do  not,  however,  impair  seriously  its  strength  or  durability, 
except  when  the  stone  is  set  on  edge.  Some  chert  and 
scattering  crystal  of  pyrite  occur  in  some  of  the  surface 
beds,  but  the  lower  and  thicker  beds  appear  to  be  free  from 
these  minerals.  The  stone  is  best  adapted  for  foundations 
and  for  heavy  masonry  as  it  is  hard,  dense,  very  strong 
and  to  be  had  in  large  blocks.  These  quarries  have  fur¬ 
nished  the  great  bulk  of  stone  used  in  Kingston.  The  piers 
of  the  Poughkeepsie  bridge,  part  of  the  anchorages  and 
piers  of  the  New  Y ork  and  Brooklyn  bridge  ;  locks  at  Cohoes 
and  Waterford,  St.  Patrick’s  Roman  Catholic  church  in1 
Newburgh  are  examples  of  the  Kingston  limestones.  These 
quarries  are  not  worked  continuously. 

Greenport,  Columbia  County — The  quarries  near  Hudson 
in  the  town  of  Greenport  are  opened  on  the  north  end,  and 
in  the  western  escarpment  of  Becraft’s  mountain.  Geolog¬ 
ically  they  are  in  the  Upper  Tentamerus  and  Encrical  lime¬ 
stone  divisions  of  the  Lower  Helderberg  horizon  and  the 
stone  is  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is  gray  to  red¬ 
dish-gray  in  color,  sub-crystalline  to  crystalline  and  highly 
fossiliferous.  The  beds  are  from  four  inches  to  six  feet 
7 


240 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


thick,  and  afford  blocks  of  large  size.  The  stone  is  sus¬ 
ceptible  of  a  high  polish,  and  is  adapted  to  decorative  pur¬ 
poses,  preferable  for  interior  work.  It  has  been  known  as 
“ coral-shell  marble”  and  “  scutella  marble.”  Nearly  all  of 
the  foundations  and  retaining  walls  in  the  city  of  Hudson 
are  of  this  stone.  The  Presbyterian  church  is  a  good  archi¬ 
tectural  example  of  its  use.  The  quarries  of  F.  W.  Jones 
are  worked  continuously  and  the  railroad  connects  them 
with  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  and  the  river. 

Champlain  Valley 

Saratoga  Springs,  Saratoga  County. —  Blue  limestone  for 

common  masonry  has  been  quarried  at  several  places  in  the 
town. 

The  largest  quarries  are  those  of  Charles  Slade,  Isaac 
Wager,  and  Prince  Wing  and  about  three  miles  west.  The 
geological  horizon  is  Calciferous  and  Trenton. 

The  stone  is  of  a  dark  blue  shade.  That  of  the  thick 
beds  is  rather  easily  dressed  and  is  worked  up  into  dimen¬ 
sion  blocks  for  curbing  and  house-trimming,  and  heavy 
bridge  work  on  the  Del.  &  Hudson  Canal  Co/s  railroad 
lines.  It  has  to  be  carted  to  Saratoga,  where  a  large  part 
of  the  total  output  is  used  in  house-work. 

Sandy  Hill,  Warren  County. —  The  Sandy  Hill  Quarry 
Company  has  extensive  quarries  two  miles  from  the  Sandy 
Hill  railroad  station,  and  a  half  mile  north-east  of  the  canal. 

The  formation  is  that  of  the  calciferous  sand  rock.  A 
large  area  has  been  worked  over  to  a  slight  depth.  There  is 
a  thin  covering  of  earth  from  one  to  two  feet  thick ;  then 
quarry  beds  one  to  seven  feet  thick,  down  at  least  to  forty 
feet.  The  dip  is  less  than  5°  to  the  south. 

Open  and  vertical,  dirt-filled  joints  are  a  peculiar  feature 
and  facilitate  the  removal  of  huge  blocks.  The  long  working 
face  and  natural  drainage  are  also  advantages.  And  with 
a  complete  equipment  of  steam  drills,  derricks  and  movable 
railways,  the  capacity  of  production  is  large.  The  annual 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  241 


output  in  cubic  yards  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
single  building-stone  quarry  in  the  state,  and  is  increasing 
from  year  to  year. 

The  stone  is  of  a  light  blue  color,  and  fine-grained.  Its 
specific  gravity  is  2.764  and  its  weight  per  cubic  foot  172 
pounds.  A  partial  chemical  analysis  gave  27.35  Per  cent  °f 
matter  insoluble  in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  The  lime 
and  magnesia  are  present  in  proportions  approximating  to 
a  dolomite.  The  absorption  capacity  was  found  to  be  0.14 
per  cent.  When  treated  with  a  one  per-cent  solution  of 
sulphuric  acid  the  loss  in  weight  was  2.51  per-cent.  Freez¬ 
ing  and  thawing  did  not  produce  any  apparent  effect. 
Exposed  to  a  heat  of  1200°  to  1400°  F.  the  stone  was  par¬ 
tially  calcined  and  crumbled  with  a  blow.  On  account  of 
its  hardness,  it  cannot  be  dressed  economically,  and  very 
little  of  it  is  used  for  house-work.  It  is  specially  adapted 
to  heavy  masonry.  It  was  used  in  the  Arthur  Kill  bridge 
on  Staten  Island  Sound,  in  the  rear  wall  on  Governors 
Island,  in  the  walls  of  the  sunken  track  of  the  Harlem  rail¬ 
road,  in  the  Croton  aqueduct  gate-house,  New  York  city,  in 
the  Poughkeepsie  bridge  piers,  and  in  the  battle  monument 
at  Bennington,  Vermont. 

Glens  Falls. — There  are  two  large  quarries  in  the  Tren¬ 
ton  limestone,  one  on  each  side  of  the  Hudson  river  at 
Glens  Falls.  That  of  the  Morgan  Lumber  and  Lime 
Company  on  the  Saratoga  county  side  is  no  longer  worked 
for  building  stone.  The  quarry  on  the  left  bank,  in  Warren 
county,  belongs  to  the  Glens  Falls  Company,  and  is  worked 
for  black  limestone  or  “marble.” 

There  is  a  long  working-face  in  which  a  gray,  crystalline 
limestone  is  seen  in  thin  beds  at  the  top,  then  the  black 
marble,  which  has,  in  two  beds,  a  total  thickness  of  twelve  feet. 

The  gray  limestone  is  sold  in  the  rough  for  common 
wall-work,  or  cut  into  house-trimmimg  material. 

The  black  marble  is  fine-grained  and  compact,  hard  and 
brittle,  but  can  be  dressed  in  any  style.  It  takes  a  brilliant 
3i 


242 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


polish  and  is  jet  black.  Its  specific  gravity  is  2.718  and  its 
weight  per  cubic  foot  169.4  pounds.  According  to  analysis 
it  is  a  magnesian  limestone,  carrying  a  high  percentage 
(30.18)  of  matters  insoluble  in  hydrochloric  acid.  The 
percentage  of  water  absorbed  is  relatively  low,  0.08.  The 
specimens  remained  unchanged  in  the  tests  by  alternate 
freezing  and  thawing.  At  a  high  heat  (i200°-i400°)  the 
stone  was  calcined  and  crumbled  to  the  touch. 

For  tiling  it  is  particularly  well  adapted,  as  it  does  not 
wear  slippery.  It  is  worked  up  at  a  mill  at  the  quarry,  and 
tiles,  shelves,  mantels,  lintels,  coping-stones,  wainscoting, 
billiard-table  tops  and  material  for  all  inside,  decorative 
work  are  cut.  Among  the  examples  of  inside  work,  the 
building  of  the  Equitable  Assurance  Company,  Broadway, 
New  York,  is  perhaps  the  best.  The  market  for  it  is  all 
over  the  country. 

The  quarry  is  at  the  side  of  the  Champlain  canal  (feeder) 
and  one-half  mile  from  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company’s  railroad. 

Whitehall,  Washington  County.  —  The  quarry  of  the 
Arana  Marble  Company  at  the  side  of  the  railroad,  about 
half  way  between  Whitehall  and  Fair  Haven,  has  not  been 
worked  except  for  stone  for  flux  to  iron  furnaces. 

Crown  Point,  Essex  County. — The  quarries  in  this  town 
have  not  been  worked  recently. 

Willsborough  Neck,  Essex  County — The  Chazy  limestone 
underlying  at  a  slight  depth  the  surface  on  this  Neck,  has 
been  opened  in  two  large  quarries.  A  large  business  was 
done  in  1854  and  onward  for  about  twenty  years,  and  much 
of  the  stone  was  used  in  the  foundations  of  the  capitol  at 
Albany,  and  in  those  of  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  bridge- 

The  stone  can  be  seen  in  the  Reformed  church,  Swan 
street,  Albany,  and  in  the  State  Street  M.  E.  church  in 
Troy.  It  has  been  known  in  the  market  as  “  Lake  Cham¬ 
plain  bluestone.”  The  stone  is  light-blue  in  color,  weath¬ 
ering  to  a  light-gray. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  243 

The  light  stripping  necessary  to  open  the  quarries,  the 
uniform  thickness  of  the  beds,  the  regular,  vertical  joints, 
and  the  location  on  the  lake  accessible  by  boats,  are  notable 
advantages.  One  quarry  only  is  now  worked  and  that  in  a 
small  way. 

Plattsburgh,  Clinton  County. — In  the  vicinity  of  Platts¬ 
burgh  there  are  several  small  quarries  in  the  Chazy  lime¬ 
stone  which  furnish  stone  for  construction  in  the  town. 
The  St.  John’s  Roman  Catholic  church  and  the  First  Pres¬ 
byterian  church  are  built  of  this  stone. 

South  of  Plattsburgh  three  and  a  half  miles,  the  Burling¬ 
ton  Manufacturing  Company  has  a  quarry  where  a  limestone 
is  obtained,  which  is  known  in  the  market  as  “  Lepanto 
marble.”  It  is  fine-crystalline  in  texture,  gray  to  red  in 
color  and  takes  a  high  polish.  The  specific  gravity  is  2.709, 
and  its  weight  per  cubic  foot  is  168.8  pounds.  It  contains 
1.54  per  cent  only  of  matter  insoluble  in  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid  and  94.87  per  cent  of  calcium  carbonate.  The  absorp¬ 
tion  test  showed  0.145  Per  cent  °f  water  absorbed.  In 
freezing  and  thawing  there  was  no  change,  but  at  a  high 
heat  the  stone  was  fully  calcined  and  crumbled  to  the  touch. 

The  stone  has  to  be  hauled  by  teams  to  the  lake,  one 
mile  east  of  the  quarry.  It  is  dressed  at  the  company’s 
works  in  Burlington,  Vermont. 

The  principal  markets  for  it  are  Burlington  and  Platts¬ 
burgh. 

Mohawk  Valley 

In  Schenectady  county  there  are  two  small  quarries  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Mohawk  river,  and  near  Pattersonville 
station,  which  are  worked  at  infrequent  intervals,  for  the 
local  market.  They  are  in  the  horizon  of  the  Trenton 
limestone. 

Amsterdam,  Montgomery  County. — The  Birdseye  lime¬ 
stone  and  the  Trenton  limestone  outcrops  in  the  valley  of 
the  Chuctanunda  creek  afford  sites  for  quarrying  building 
stone,  and  four  quarries  have  been  opened  north  of  the 


244  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

town  of  Amsterdam,  and  at  a  height  of  180  to  250  feet 
above  the  Mohawk  valley.  The  stone  is  in  beds  from  six 
inches  to  three  feet  thick  which  lie  almost  horizontally.  The 
rough  stone  is  sold  for  making  lime,  the  best  is  cut  into 
platforms,  sills,  lintels,  and  house-trimming  materials.  The 
principal  markets  are  Amsterdam,  Albany,  Cohoes  and 
Troy.  Shanahan’s  quarry  furnished  a  large  amount  of 
stone  for  the  foundation  of  the  Capitol  at  Albany.  The 
other  quarries  are  Hewitt’s  and  Vanderveer’s. 

Tribes  Hill,  Montgomery  County. —  There  are  two  large 
quarries  near  the  station  of  the  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  at 
Tribes  Hill  :  that  of  Henry  Hurst  &  Son,  a  few  rods  west 
of  the  depot,  and  one  east  of  it,  belonging  to  James  Shan¬ 
ahan.  The  former  is  worked  steadily  and  mainly  for  con¬ 
struction  in  the  neighboring  towns  ;  the  latter  has  been  idle 
for  several  years. 

The  upper  strata  in  both  quarries  are  of  blue  limestone 
suitable  for  common  rubble  work  or  for  lime-making.  The 
gray  stone  of  the  thicker  and  lower  beds  is  fine-crystalline 
to  sub-crystalline  in  texture,  and  having  a  specific  gravity 
of  2.718.  The  computed  weight  per  cubic  foot  is  169 
pounds.  It  contains,  according  to  analysis,  matters  insolu¬ 
ble  in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  2.48  per  cent,  and  of  lime 
53.57  per  cent  or  equivalent  95.68  per  cent  of  calcium  car¬ 
bonate.  The  absorption  percentage  was  found  to  be  0.14. 
Freezing  and  thawing  produced  no  change.  At  a  red  heat 
it  was  reduced  to  lime. 

The  markets  for  Tribes  Hill  limestone  are  Albany,  Troy, 
Cohoes,  Stillwater,  Mechanicsville,  Hoosick  Falls,  Johns¬ 
town  and  Gloversville. 

The  Edison  House,  Schenectady,  is  an  example  in  con¬ 
struction. 

Fine-tooled  surfaces  are  of  a  light-gray  shade  of  color ; 
polished,  it  looks  almost  like  a  black  marble.* 


*  There  is  a  fine  cubical  block  from  Mr.  Shanahan’s  quarry  in  the  State  Museum 
collection  whose  polished  face  is  almost  jet  black. 


« 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  245 

Quarries  have  been  opened  at  many  points  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk  between  Amsterdam  and  Little  Falls,  and 
in  the  Trenton  and  Birdseye  limestone  formations.  Some 
of  them  have  been  idle  for  many  years  ;  others  have  fur¬ 
nished  small  quantities  of  stone  for  home  use,  and  hence 
are  only  of  local  importance. 

Canajoharie,  Montgomery  County. —  There  are  three  build¬ 
ing-stone  quarries  opened  in  and  near  Canajoharie,  and  in 
the  Calciferous  formation,  two  of  which  are  worked  contin¬ 
uously.  The  openings  are  large,  and  there  is  much  varia¬ 
tion  in  the  beds.  The  leading  varieties  are  a  blue  stone 
and  a  gray,  sub-crystalline  stone,  the  latter  of  which  is  cut 
for  monumental  bases,  sewer  blocks,  house  trimmings  and 
canal  lock  construction.  A  specimen  of  the  gray  variety 
from  the  quarry  of  A.  C.  &  C.  H.  Shaper  was  examined 
and  gave  an  analysis  46.92  per  cent  of  lime,  equivalent  to 
83.92  per  cent  of  calcium  carbonate  and  10.06  per  cent  of 
insoluble  matters.  The  specific  gravity  was  2.726  and  the 
weight  169.9  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  Its  absorptive  capacity 
was  found  to  be  0.07  per  cent.  The  alternate  freezing  and 
thawing  produced  no  change,  but  the  high  temperature 
calcined  the  specimen  so  that  it  fell  to  pieces  in  handling. 
The  stone  of  these  quarries  can  be  seen  in  the  churches  of 
Canajoharie  and  Fort  Plain,  and  in  some  of  the  large  mill 
buildings  of  Utica. 

Palatine  Bridge,  Montgomery  County —  On  the  north  or 
left  bank  of  the  Mohawk  there  are  two  large  quarries 
which  furnish  blue  and  gray  limestones  for  common  wall 
work  and  for  cut  work.  These  quarries  are  in  the  same 
formation  as  those  across  the  river  in  Canajoharie,  and  the 
stone  resembles  closely  that  of  the  latter  quarries.  In  all 
of  them  the  beds  are  dipping  at  50  to  io°  southerly,  and  the 
stripping  is  comparatively  light. 

At  Fort  Plain  and  St.  Johnsville,  Montgomery  County,  the 

Birdseye  limestone  is  opened  in  small  quarries  for  local 


use. 


246 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Little  Falls,  Herkimer  County. — There  are  three  quarries 
in  the  calciferous  sandrock,  in  the  bluff  north  of  the  town, 
which  produce  stone  for  common  wall  work  for  local  use. 
The  stone  is  fine-grained  and  of  a  bluish-gray  shade  of 
color,  weathering  to  gray.  North-west  of  the  town  one 
and  a  half  miles,  there  is  a  quarry  on  the  Wilcox  property 
and  in  the  Trenton  and  Birdseye  limestone.  The  stone  is 
sold  for  curbing  and  flagging  mainly. 

Newport,  Herkimer  County. —  In  this  town  there  are  three 
quarries  in  the  limestone,  which  furnish  stone  for  local  use, 
and  for  canal  lock  construction. 

Holland  Patent,  Oneida  County - The  quarries  in  the 

Trenton  limestone  at  this  place  are  of  local  importance  only. 

Prospect,  Oneida  County.— The  canon  of  the  West 
Canada  creek  has  exposed  the  Trenton  limestone  between 
this  place  and  Trenton  Falls,  and  made  the  upper  beds 
easily  accessible,  and  workable  to  advantage. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  creek  (Oneida  county)  Evan  S. 
Thomas  and  H.  &  L.  W.  Jones  have  quarries  ;  on  the  east 
side,  in  Herkimer  county,  there  are  two  quarries,  worked  by 
Edward  Callahan  and  George  &  Griffith  of  Utica.  The 
covering  of  soil  and  earth  is  light,  and  is  thrown  into  the 
gorge  with  waste  rock.  The  beds  lie  nearly  horizontal  and 
are  thin  so  as  to  be  cut  to  advantage  for  platforms,  flagging- 
stone,  lintels,  sills  and  water-tables.  The  stone  is  carted  to 
Prospect  station,  one  and  a  half  miles,  and  there  shipped. 

A  representative  specimen  of  the  best  stone  from  the 
quarry  of  Evan  S.  Thomas  was  found  to  have  a  specific 
gravity  of  2.725  and  a  weight  per  cubic  foot  of  169.8 
pounds.  The  percentage  of  lime  53.10  found,  indicates 
94.82  per  cent  of  calcium  carbonate.  The  absorption  per¬ 
centage  is  0.14.  The  freezing  and  thawing  tests  produced 
no  apparent  change;  heating  to  i200°-i400°  F.,  and  cooling 
suddenly  made  it  a  crumbling  mass  of  lime. 

The  stone  of  these  quarries  is  known  as  “Trenton  gray 
limestone.”  It  has  been  employed  extensively  in  Utica, 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  247 


Rome,  Norwich  and  other  places,  Examples  of  it  are  in  the 
U.  S.  Government  building,  in  St.  John’s  Roman  Catholic 
and  in  St.  Paul’s  Lutheran  churches  in  Utica  ;  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  churches  at  Little  Falls  and  at  Sandy  Hill ;  and  in 
the  Methodist  Epistopal  church  in  Herkimer.  Some  of  the 
stone  is  cut  at  Utica  into  monumental  bases.  The  best  cut- 
stone  is  gray  in  color  and  sub-crystalline  in  texture. 

It  fades  after  long  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  and  loses 
its  freshness  of  surface. 

Leyden,  Lewis  County —  Blue  limestone  has  been  quarried 
near  Talcottville,  on  Sugar  river  at  Leyden  station,  and 
near  Port  Leyden.  Much  stone  for  canal  lock  construction 
has  been  obtained  at  some  of  the  Leyden  quarries. 

Lowville,  Lewis  County — L.  H.  Carter  and  Hiram  Gowdy 
have  quarries  south-east  of  the  village,  and  east  of  the  R., 
W.  &  O.  R.  R.  line.  The  geological  horizon  is  the  Trenton 
and  Birdseye  limestones.  The  beds  are  nearly  horizontal, 
and  some  of  them  are  two  and  three  feet  thick.  The  heavy 
beds  furnish  stone  for  bridge  abutments. 

The  Lowville  stone  is  generally  much  darker  in  shade 
than  the  Prospect  stone  and  looks  well  when  fine-tooled. 
The  principal  market  is  Lowville  and  adjoining  towns. 
Much  of  the  stone  has  been  used  on  the  U.  &  B.  R.  branch 
in  bridge  abutments. 

Watertown,  Jefferson  County. — The  gray  of  the  Trenton 
and  the  heavy  beds  of  the  Black  river  limestones  are  finely 
exposed  to  view  in  the  gorge  of  the  Black  river  at  Water- 
town.  They  are  not  worked. 

Three  Mile  Bay,  Jefferson  County. —  At  this  place  the  lime¬ 
stone  is  so  thinly  covered  as  to  be  readily  opened,  and  stone 
for  local  use  is  obtained  in  several  small  quarries.  Barrow’s 
quarry  is  close  to  the  lake  shore,  and  half  a  mile  from  the 
railroad  station. 

The  lower  beds  are  worked  into  cut  stone  for  house 
trimming  and  cemetery  work.  Watertown  and  the  lake 
ports  are  the  chief  markets. 

8 


248 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


At  Brownsville  some  limestone  is  got  at  the  side  of  the 
Cape  Vincent  branch  railroad  for  local  use. 

Chaumont,  Jefferson  County. —  There  are  several  large 
quarries  at  Chaumont,  two  of  which,  Adams  Bros.’  and  Du 
Fort  &  Son,  are  run  steadily.  The  former  has  a  quarry 
face  a  mile  in  length.  They  are  in  the  horizon  of  the  Black 
river  and  Trenton  limestones.  The  beds  dip  westward  at  a 
small  angle  and  are  divided  into  large  blocks  by  vertical 
joints. 

There  is  a  blue  limestone  at  the  top  which  is  made  into 
lime,  or  used  for  common  wall  work.  Under  it  is  the  gray 
sub-crystalline  variety,  in  what  are  known  as  the  32-inch 
and  the  16-inch  beds,  beside  thinner  beds  lower  down.  The 
surface  courses  furnish  stone  for  lime  manufacture.  The 
stone  of  the  thicker  beds  is  cut  for  lock  facing  and  bridge 
work  ;  the  thin  beds  are  worked  into  house  trimmings. 
These  quarries  are  on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  convenient  to 
navigation,  and  are  near  the  railroad  also.  The  product  is 
increasing  from  year  to  year.  Much  of  the  Chaumont 
stone  has  been  put  into  Erie  canal  locks. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  the  County  Clerk’s 
office  and  City  Opera  House  in  Watertown  are  examples  in 
construction. 

Oswego,  Fulton  and  Utica  are  other  markets. 

Ogdensburg,  St.  Lawrence  County. —  The  number  of  stone 
buildings  in  Ogdensburg  is  comparatively  large,  and  the 
material  is  almost  all  out  of  local  quarries  in  the  Chazy 
limestone  formation. 

The  Town  Hall  and  the  St.  John’s  Protestant  Episcopal 
church  are  beautiful  examples  of  the  stone  which  is  found 
here.  The  quarry  which  is  now  worked  for  the  local  sup¬ 
ply  is  on  the  Oswegatchie  river,  two  miles  south  of  the 
town. 

Norwood,  St.  Lawrence  County. — A  blue  limestone  is  quar¬ 
ried  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Norwood  on  the  O.  &  L.  C. 
R.  R.  line.  It  can  be  seen  in  the  Presbyterian  churches  at 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  249 


Malone,  Waddington  and  Canton ;  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Hogansburg,  and  in  the  county  buildings  at 
Canton. 

Schoharie,  Schoharie  County. —  Limestones  of  the  Lower 
Helderberg  ’and  Water-lime  groups  crop  out  in  the  valley 
east  of  the  village  of  Schoharie,  and  afford  excellent  build¬ 
ing  stone.  The  black,  tentaculite  limestone  is  very  compact 
and  takes  a  high  polish.  The  use  thus  far  is  for  the  town 
only. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  church  and  Revolutionary  stone 
fort  in  the  lower  Schoharie  valley,  built  in  1 766,  shows  how 
well  the  limestone  resists  the  weather. 

Howe’s  Cave,  Schoharie  County.  —  Formerly  a  large 
amount  of  building  stone  was  quarried  here  in  the  bluff, 
above  the  hydraulic  limestone  beds.  The  latter  only  are 
now  worked. 

Cobleskill,  Schoharie  County. —  William  Reilly  has  two 
quarries  near  this  place ;  one  a  half  mile  north-west  of  the 
village,  and  the  other  about  two  miles  to  the  north-east. 
Both  are  in  the  Upper  Helderberg  limestone. 

Two  principal  kinds  of  stone  are  taken  out, —  a  hard  blue- 
stone,  and  a  gray,  sub-crystalline  variety,  which  is  cut  and 
dressed  for  dimension  work.  A  specimen  of  the  latter  was 
examined  and  found  to  contain  53.86  per  cent  of  lime,  or 
96.18  per  cent  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  2.26  per  cent  of 
matter  insoluble  in  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  Its  specific, 
gravity  was  2.713,  equivalent  to  a  weight  of  169  pounds  to 
the  cubic  foot.  The  absorption  percentage  was  0.109.  Un¬ 
affected  apparently  by  alternate  freezing  and  thawing,  it  was 
calcined  at  a  high  heat  (i200°-i400°  F.). 

The  stone  of  this  quarry  has  a  home  market;  it  is  shipped 
to  Binghamton,  Oneonta,  Cooperstown,  Albany  and  other 
places  on  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  railroad.  It  was 
used  in  the  German  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Clinton 
and  Alexander  streets ;  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  Cen¬ 
tral  avenue,  and  in  the  Hawk  street  viaduct,  Albany. 

32 


250 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Sharon  Springs,  Schoharie  County. —  The  Lower  Helder- 
berg  limestones  at  Sharon  Springs  and  its  vicinity  are 
opened  at  several  points,  and  stone  is  obtained  for  local  use 
in  flagging,  cross-walks  and  house  work.  The  limestones 
of  the  Upper  Helderberg  epoch  in  their  westward  extension 
into  Otsego  county,  crop  out  in  many  ledges  in  the  towns  of 
Cherry  Valley  and  Springfield,  and  afford  good  building  stone 
for  local  use.  The  Presbyterian  church  and  Belcher  House, 
in  the  village  of  Cherry  Valley ;  the  Otsego  county  jail, 
Fenimore  House,  and  the  house  of  Edward  Clark  in  Coop- 
erstown,  are  examples  in  construction  of  the  stone  from 
these  quarries.  In  the  town  of  Stark,  in  Herkimer 
county,  a  small  quarry  has  been  worked  in  the  same  gray 
limestone. 

The  corniferous  limestone  was  opened  many  years  ago  in 
small  quarries  at  Cassville,  Waterville  and  Oriskany  Falls, 
in  the  southern  part  of  Oneida  county. 

Perryville,  Madison  County. —  Three  quarries  are  worked 
at  irregular  times  at  this  place.  The  stone  is  the  Onondaga 
gray  limestone  and  is  used  as  there  is  a  demand  for  it ;  for 
bridge  work  mainly. 

In  Onondaga  county  the  Onondaga  gray  limestone  is  well 
developed  and  is  quarried  extensively.  There  are  quarries 

at  Manlius,  Jamesville,  on  the  Onondaga  Indian  Reservation, 
and  at  Splitrock. 

Onondaga  Indian  Reservation  Quarries. —  This  group  of 
quarries  is  six  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Syracuse  and  in  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  Reservation.  There  are  five  parties 
at  work  within  a  range  of  three-eighths  of  a  mile  from  north 
to  south.  The  dip  of  the  beds  is  generally  to  the  west- 
south-west,  and  at  low  angles. 

The  upper  beds  are  blue  limestone  which  is  waste,  except¬ 
ing  a  small  part  which  is  used  for  rubble.  The  gray  lime¬ 
stone  has  a  crystalline  texture,  and  a  specific  gravity  of 
2.708,  equivalent  to  a  weight  of  168  pounds  per  cubic  foot. 
It  is  dressed  readily  and  fine-tooled  surfaces  are  light  gray, 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  25  I 

resembling  the  gray  granites  of  Maine,  and  contrasting  well 
with  the  rock-face  stone  which  is  so  much  darker-colored. 
It  is  a  strong  and  durable  stone,  as  is  proven  in  the  old 
buildings  in  Syracuse  and  elsewhere.  Specimens  of  fine-cut 
gray  limestone,  which  have  been  exposed  to  the  weather 
forty-eight  years  in  the  old  city  hall,  exhibit  no  indications 
of  decay,  and  no  alteration  other  than  a  fading  in  color. 
One  defect  in  the  stone  is  the  very  thin,  black,  shaly  seams 
which  sometimes  give  it  the  appearance  of  checking  ;  but 
there  are  no  clay  seams  as  in  some  of  our  limestones. 

In  quarrying  it  is  not  possible  to  get  as  thick  beds  as  in 
the  granites  and  some  of  the  sandstones,  two  feet  being 
the  average  thickness. 

A  representative  specimen  from  Hughes  Bros.,  of  Syra¬ 
cuse,  was  found  to  contain  53.76  per  cent  of  lime  and  0.60 
per  cent  of  magnesia,  or  96  per  cent  of  carbonate  of  lime 
and  1.26  per  cent  of  carbonate  of  magnesia.  Matters  in¬ 
soluble  in  dilute  acid  were  1.52  per  cent.  The  water  ab¬ 
sorbed  was  0.14  per  cent.  The  freezing  and  thawing  tests 
did  not  produce  any  apparent  change.  Subjected  to  a  tem¬ 
perature  of  i200°-i400°  F.  the  stone  was  fully  calcined. 

Split  Rock  Quarries.— This  group  is  in  the  town  of  Onon¬ 
daga,  five  to  seven  miles  west  of  Syracuse,  and  in  the  north¬ 
facing  escarpment  of  the  Upper  Helderberg  rocks.  The 
beds  are  thirlly  covered  by  earth,  and  one  or  two  beds,  at 
most  are  worked.  In  this  way  a  large  area  has  been  quar¬ 
ried  over.  A  great  deal  of  stone  for  the  Erie  canal  con¬ 
struction  was  obtained  from  these  quarries. * 

The  Onondaga  gray  limestone  has  been  the  principal 
building  stone  in  Syracuse.  Among  the  many  fine  struc¬ 
tures,  in  which  it  has  been  used  for  walls  and  trimmings, 
may  be  noted  the  following:  United  States  Government 
building ;  new  city  hall ;  hall  of  languages,  Syracuse  uni¬ 
versity ;  Onondaga  County  Savings  bank ;  St.  Paul’s  Prot- 


*  One  of  the  first  railroads  in  Central  New  York  was  constructed  from  the  Split 
Rock  quarries  to  the  canal,  one  mile  west  of  Syracuse. —  H.  W.  Clarke. 


252 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


estant  Episcopal  church ;  St.  Mary’s  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  the  May  Memorial  church. 

Oswego,  Binghamton,  Elmira,  and  other  cities  and 
towns  in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  are  markets  for 
the  stone. 

Union  Springs,  Cayuga  County. —  The  Onondaga  limestone 
is  opened  in  a  group  of  quarries  at  Hamburg,  one  mile 
south  of  Union  Springs,  and  on  Daniel  Mosher’s  farm,  east 
of  the  village.  A  remarkable  feature  is  the  persistence  of 
the  quarry  beds  and  their  uniformity  in  the  several  quarries. 
The  glacial  drift  on  the  limestone  is  from  one  to  ten  feet 
thick ;  the  upper  beds  (or  tiers,  as  here  known)  are  blue 
limestone,  and  from  two  to  twenty-four  inches  thick ;  the 
lower  beds  are  generally  thick  and  of  a  gray,  sub-crystalline 
stone.  The  thin  beds  answer  for  flagging;  the  heavier 
beds  are  worked  into  dimension  blocks  for  building,  canal- 
lock  and  bridge-pier  construction.  The  markets  are 
reached  by  boats  on  line  of  Erie  canal. 

The  Hamburg  quarries  were  opened  more  than  sixty 
years  ago,  and  the  old  grist-mill,  the  Chase  house  and  the 
Howland  house,  show  how  well  the  stone  has  stood  for  that 
length  of  time. 

Auburn,  Cayuga  County.-— The  Upper  Helderberg  lime¬ 
stone  ledges  at  Auburn,  have  afforded  a  good  building 
stone  ;  and  a  comparatively  large  percentage  of  stone  build¬ 
ings  in  that  city  are  evidence  of  its  enduring  property.  The 
Garrett  Stone  and  Coal  Company,  L.  S.  Goodrich  &  Son, 
and  John  Bennett  &  Son,  have  quarries  here.  The  first- 
named  was  opened  in  1810.  The  blue  limestone  of  the 
upper  beds  is  used  for  rubble-work,  only.  The  gray  lime¬ 
stone  occurring  in  “tiers”  of  from  six  inches  to  two  feet 
thick,  is  cut  for  house  trimmings,  platforms,  curbing  and 
gutter-stones.  It  is  dressed  readily,  and  is  of  a  light  gray 
color  when  fine  cut ;  the  rock  face  is  dark-colored. 

It  has  been  used  in  six  beautiful  churches  ;  in  the  city 
hall;  in  the  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  buildings ;  in 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  253 


the  State  arsenal  and  State  prison,  besides  many  stores  and 
other  structures  in  the  city. 

The  principal  outside  markets  have  been  Sayre,  Pa., 
Owego,  Elmira,  Oswego,  Geneva,  Canandaigua,  Newark 
Valley  and  Palmyra. 

The  Corniferous  or  Upper  Helderberg  group  of  lime¬ 
stone,  including  as  the  upper  part  the  Corniferous  or  Seneca 
limestone,  is  well  represented  in  a  belt  crossing  the  towns 
of  Seneca  Falls  and  Waterloo,  and  quarries  are  opened  in 
both  towns,  for  local  use  mainly. 

The  Waterloo  quarries  are  large,  and  kept  in  operation 
almost  all  of  the  year.  That  of  Loren  Thomas,  a  half  mile 
south  of  the  town  has  been  worked  for  more  than  sixty 
years.  Remarkably  regular  systems  of  vertical  joints,  at 
uniform  distances  apart,  divide  the  stone  into  large,  rectang¬ 
ular  blocks,  and  facilitate  the  quarrying. 

The  beds  are  from  seven  to  twenty-six  inches  thick,  and 
fourteen  to  sixteen  in  number.  The  stone  of  these  quarries 
resembles  that  of  the  formation  to  the  east,  in  Cayuga  and 
Onondaga  counties. 

The  same  geological  formation  appears  in  Ontario 
county,  and  there  are  small  quarries  in  the  towns  of  Canan¬ 
daigua  and  Victor,  which  do  a  local  business. 

Going  west  the  outcrops  of  the  rocks  of  this  geological 
epoch  have  been  opened  in  small  quarries  in  Mendon,  Monroe 
County;  near  Caledonia  in  Livingston  County;  and  in  Leroy, 
Genesee  County.  There  are  two  quarries  at  the  latter  place. 
They  produce  stone  for  common  wall  work.  Some  of  the 
limestone  found  north  of  the  town  is  said  to  dress  well,  and 
to  be  capable  of  receiving  a  good  polish. 

Williamsville,  Erie  County. — Several  quarries  have  been 
opened  at  Williamsville,  ten  miles  north-east  of  Buffalo. 
J.  S.  &  F.  H.  Youngs,  and  D.  &  H.  Fogelsonger,  work  quar¬ 
ries  for  building  stone,  mainly,  for  the  Buffalo  market. 
They  are  small,  and  not  deep,  as  the  rock  is  near  the  surface. 
The  stone  is  light-gray,  fine-crystalline,  and  dresses  well. 


254 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


It  has  a  specific  gravity  of  2.708  and  weighs  168  pounds 
per  cubic  foot.  It  contains  93.44  per  cent  of  calcium  car¬ 
bonate,  and  3.82  per  cent  of  insoluble  matter  in  dilute  hy¬ 
drochloric  acid.  Its  absorption  percentage  is  0.16.  It 
resisted  freezingand  thawing  tests  without  apparent  change, 
but  was  calcined  at  a  temperature  of  i200°-i400°  F.  It  is 
used  in  Buffalo  for  cut-stone  trimmings.  The  quarries  are 
six  miles  from  the  New  York  Central  railroad  line,  but 
nearly  all  the  stone  is  carted  by  teams  to  Buffalo. 

Buffalo. — The  Corniferous  limestone  and  the  Onondaga 
limestone  are  quarried  extensively  in  this  city  for  all  com¬ 
mon  wall  work. 

The  Buffalo  Cement  Company’s  quarry  is  the  northern¬ 
most.  South  of  it  is  the  Yamarthal  group  of  quarries.  The 
drift-earth  is  thin,  covering  the  quarry  beds  to  a  depth  of  one 
to  four  feet,  as  opened  thus  far.  The  limestone  is  in  courses, 
lying  horizontal,  and  from  nine  inches  to  two  and  a  half 
feet  thick.  The  stone  is  dark-colored,  hard,  compact  and 
strong,  and  is  well  liked  for  walls  and  foundations.  It  is 
delivered  in  wagon  loads,  in  the  city,  at  $6  per  cord. 

Black  Rock,  Erie  County.—  The  Corniferous  limestone  at 
this  place  was  formerly  quarried  for  canal  construction. 


Niagara  Limestone 

Rochester. —  Nearly  all  of  the  common  building  stone 
used  in  Rochester,  is  obtained  from  quarries  in  the  north¬ 
eastern  and  in  the  western  quarters  of  the  city.  A  very  small 
part  of  the  best  gray  stone  is  used  for  rock-face  ashlar 
work.  The  business  is  entirely  limited  to  the  city. 

Lockport,  Niagara  County.— The  Whitmore  and  Carpenter 
quarries  are  on  the  Erie  canal,  in  the  south-western  part  of 
the  town.  The  upper  layers  of  stone  are  thin,  but  are  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  thick  beds,  to  a  depth  of  twelve  to  twenty-four 
feet.  The  dip  is  southward  at  a  low  angle.  The  stone  is 
known  as  the  Lockport  gray  limestone.  It  is  light-gray,  in 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  255 


places  variegated  with  red ;  dense,  solid,  and  made  up  of 
comminuted  crinoidal  stems  and  coralline  masses.  The 
fine-cut  surface  does  not  differ  greatly  in  shade  of  color 
from  that  of  the  rock-face  stone.  These  quarries  were 
opened  when  the  Erie  canal  was  dug,  in  1825,  and  the  Car¬ 
penters  began  work  here  in  1829.  The  production  has  di¬ 
minished  greatly,  owing  to  the  general  use  of  sandstones. 

It  has  been  used  in  Lockport  for  common  wall  work  ;  for 
house  trimmings  and  monumental  uses  it  has  had  a  wide 
market.  The  various  buildings  in  the  town  show  how  well 
it  has  withstood  the  action  of  the  weather  for  years. 

The  Lenox  Library  building,  Lifth  avenue  and  Seven¬ 
tieth  to  Seventy-first  streets,  New  York,  is  an  example  of 
its  use,  but  one  in  which  the  stone  shows  crevices  and  holes, 
due  to  unequal  weathering  of  coralline  masses  and  the 
more  fossiliferous  portion.  The  improper  position  of  the 
stone  in  the  walls  (more  than  forty  per  cent  being  set  on 
edge)  may  explain  the  serious  defects  seen  in  this  example.* 

West  of  Lockport  the  Niagara  limestone  is  quarried  at 
Niagara  Falls,  for  building  in  the  town.  Across  the  river,  on 
the  Canadian  side,  the  same  formation  near  Queenstown, 
furnishes  some  stone  to  Buffalo  which  is  in  much  favor 
with  some  architects  and  builders. 


II.  Fragmental  Rocks 

« 

Sandstones 

Fort  Ann,  Washington  County. —  A  gray  sandstone  is  quar¬ 
ried  two  miles  north  of  the  village,  and  at  the  side  of  the 
canal.  It  is  used  in  Whitehall. 

Whitehall,  Washington  County.— The  cliffs  of  Potsdam 
sandstone,  east  of  the  town,  yield  stone  for  local  use.  The 
stone  is  hard  and  strong,  and  is  valuable  for  foundations, 

*  See  10th  Census  of  United  States,  Vol.  x,  page  369,  Durability  of  building  stones 
in  New  York  city  and  vicinity,  by  A  lexis  A .  Julien. 

9 


256  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

retaining-walls,  and  where  it  can  be  used  without  much  cut¬ 
ting  or  dressing. 

Port  Henry,  Essex  County. —  The  outcrops  of  the  Potsdam 
sandstone  in  the  town  and  west  of  it  afford  quarrying  sites. 
The  quarry  of  L.  W.  Bond  is  worked  for  the  local  market, 
and  the  towns  on  the  line  of  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company’s  railroad  in  the  Champlain  valley.  The  stone  is 
hard,  of  a  gray  shade,  excepting  the  surface  beds,  which  are 
weathered  to  a  rusty-red  color.  It  is  nearly  all  silica,  and 
is  capable  of  resisting  the  ordinary  atmospheric  agents  for 
years,  when  the  blocks  are  laid  on  their  bedding  planes.  A 
serious  drawback  to  its  more  extensive  use  is  the  cost  of 
cutting  and  dressing. 

Examples  of  this  stone  in  construction  are  seen  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  in  the  Sherman  Library  building, 
and  the  railroad  depot  in  the  town.* 

Keeseville. —  The  Ausable  river,  the  boundary  line  of  Essex 
and  Clinton  counties,  has  at  this  place,  and  at  the  famous 
chasm  below  the  village,  worn  its  bed  down  deeply  into  the 
sandstone,  and  along  its  banks  quarries  have  been  opened 
in  both  counties  for  local  supply. 

The  thin  beds  make  a  fairly  good  flagging-stone.  The 
heavier  beds  yield  good  stone  for  ordinary  wall  work  ;  and 
a  great  amount  of  it  has  been  put  into  buildings  in  Keese¬ 
ville.  In  color  it  is  gray-white.  It  is  rather  more  granular 
and  not  as  hard  as  the  Port  Henry  sandstone. 

Malone,  Franklin  County. —  The  sandstone  of  the  Potsdam 
horizon  is  opened  by  small  quarries  at  this  point,  and  at  lo¬ 
calities  to  the  west,  but  they  are  unimportant,  and  the  next 
group  to  be  noted  is  at 

Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  County. —  The  formation  is  so  well 
developed  in  the  valley  of  the  Raquette  river,  south-east  of 
the  village  of  Potsdam,  that  it  has  been  named  the  Potsdam 
sandstone. 

"  This  quarry  yielded  the  trails  of  trilobites  upon  ripple-marked  beds,  fine  speci¬ 
mens  of  which  are  in  the  State  Museum,  and  the  American  Museum,  New  York. 
(See  Forty-second  Annual  Report,  New  York  State  Museum,  pp.  25-29.) 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  257 


Mrs.  Charles  Cox,  Thomas  S.  Clarkson  and  the  Potsdam 
Red  Sandstone  Company  have  quarries  along  the  river,  at  an 
average  distance  of  three  miles,  east-south-east  of  the  village. 
The  beds  range  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  six  feet, 
and  afford  blocks  of  varying  sizes.  In  most  of  the  beds 
there  is  a  more  or  less  laminated  structure,  especially  in  the 
darker-red  colored  stone. 

The  color  is  light-pink,  light-red  or  salmon  colored,  and 
red  to  reddish-brown,  varying  in  the  several  openings. 

A  representative  specimen,  taken  from  the  company’s 
quarry,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  2.604,  equivalent  to  a  weight 
of  162  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot.  Its  percentage  of  silica  is 
relatively  large,  and  the  cementing  material  appears  to  be 
siliceous  also.  The  oxide  of  iron,  as  determined  by  analy¬ 
sis  is  0.36  (ferrous  oxide)  in  amount. 

In  the  absorption  test  2.08  per  cent  of  water  was  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  the  dry  stone.  There  was  no  loss  of  weight  in 
repeated  treatment  with  water  containing  carbonic  acid  gas 
and  with  sulphurous  acid  gas.  A  solution  of  1  per  cent 
of  sulphuric  acid  occasioned  a  slight  loss  in  weight,  equiva¬ 
lent  to  0.02  per  cent.  The  test  of  freezing  and  thawing  left 
the  stone  apparently  unchanged.  When  heated  to  12000- 
1400°  F.  and  suddenly  cooled,  the  color  was  unaltered,  there 
were  no  checks,  and  the 
little  impaired. 

Potsdam  sandstone  has  been  tested  severely  in  its  home. 
The  wide  range  of  temperature  between  the  maxima  of 
summer  and  the  minima  of  winter,  and  the  large  annual 
precipitation,  of  which  a  considerable  part  is  in  the  form  of 
snow,  present  the  conditions  which  demand  material  with 
resisting  capacity.  The  houses  of  Gen.  Merritt  and  Sena¬ 
tor  Erwin,  and  other  buildings,  erected  about  sixty  years 
ago,  are  solid  structures  to-day.  The  arris  and  corners  are 
as  sharp  as  when  first  cut,  and  the  faces  show  no  sign  of 
scaling  or  flaking.  The  pavements  also  show  how  well  the 
stone  wears  under  use,  not  becoming  smooth  and  slippery 
33 


strength  of  the  specimen  was  but 


258 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


when  wet.  The  Normal  school  buildings,  the  town  hall, 
the  Cox  block,  and  the  Presbyterian,  Universalist  and  Epis¬ 
copal  churches  are  the  more  prominent  structures  of  this 
stone  in  Potsdam.  In  the  last-named  church  there  is  much 
carved  work,  making  it  very  expensive  on  account  of  the 
hardness  of  the  stone. 

The  Potsdam  stone  finds  a  wide  market,  and  the  demand 
for  it  is  growing,  as  its  beauty,  strength  and  durability  are 
better  known  and  appreciated. 

On  account  of  its  hardness,  and  the  cost  of  fine-tool 
dressing,  the  stone  is  best  adapted  to  rock-face,  ashlar  work. 
It  may  be  seen  in  the  “  Florence,”  South  Salina  street, 
Syracuse  ;  All  Saints’  cathedral,  Albany  ;  Columbia  college 
and  Rutger’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  Seventy-second 
street,  New  York  city;  Reid  building,  Seventh  avenue  and 
Sterling  street,  Brooklyn  ;  the  State  asylum,  at  Matteawan  ; 
the  New  York  State  asylum  and  City  opera  house,  Ogdens, 
burg  ;  and  in  the  Dominion  Parliament  buildings  at  Ottawa, 
Canada. 

Hammond.  St.  Lawrence  County. —  Sandstone  is  quarried  at 
three  localities  in  the  town  of  Hammond,  and  on  the  line  of 
the  Rome,  Watertown  and  Ogdensburgh  railroad.  The 
stone  lies  in  beds  which  dip  about  50  eastward  and,  owing 
to  the  well-defined  joints  and  the  evenness  of  the  bedding, 
blocks  are  worked  out  readily  which  are  suitable  for  cutting 
into  curbing  and  flagging  stone,  or  for  making  paving 
blocks.  Its  color  is  gray-white —  in  places  striped,  red  and 

white.  It  is  hard,  and  is  nearly  all  silica.  Unlike  the  quar- 

/ 

ries  at  Potsdam  there  is  little  earth  covering,  and  the  beds 
worked  are  not  deep. 

The  output  of  the  Hammond  quarries  is  nearly  all  con¬ 
sumed  in  street  work,  and  goes  to  Utica,  Syracuse,  Rome, 
Binghamton,  Ogdensburg  and  to  western  cities. 

Clayton,  Jefferson  County. —  The  Potsdam  sandstone  forma¬ 
tion  crops  out  at  Clayton,  and  affords  a  hard  and  durable 
stone  for  local  demands. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  259 


Hudson  River  Group 

Highland,  Ulster  County. —  Quarries  on  the  river  bank,  two 
miles  north  of  Highland  station,  were  formerly  worked  ex¬ 
tensively. 

Rhinebeck,  Dutchess  County.—  The  New  York  Central  and 
Hudson  River  Railroad  Company  continues  work  at  its 
quarry,  a  half  mile  south  of  the  station. 

New  Baltimore,  Greene  County.— The  sandstone  is  here  on 
edge,  and  is  generally  in  thick  beds,  interstratified  with  a 
black,  shaly  rock.  The  quarries  are  not  worked  to  the  same 
extent  as  in  former  years.  The  stone  is  dark-gray  to  slate- 
colored.  Much  stone  has  been  obtained  here  for  the  Hud¬ 
son  river  dyking  and  for  dock-filling. 

Troy,  Rensselaer  County.—  Sandstone  is  quarried  on  Paw¬ 
ling  avenue,  near  the  Memorial  church,  and  on  Fourth 
street,  near  and  south  of  the  Poestenkill.  It  is  used  for 
foundations  and  common  wall  work  in  the  city,  exclusively. 
And  the  quarries  are  in  operation  at  such  times  as  the  de¬ 
mand  for  stone  requires. 

Aqueduct,  Schenectady  County.—  Three  quarries  have  been 
opened  at  this  point.  The  stone  is  gray  to  blue  in  color 
and  fine-grained.  It  is  known  in  the  market  as  “Schenec¬ 
tady  bluestone,”  and  is  used  in  common  wall  work  in 
Albany,  Cohoes  and  Troy. 

Stone  with  natural-face  (joint)  surfaces  and  even-bedded 
is  broken  into  rectangular  blocks  and  is  used  in  ashlar, 
work.  Some  of  the  older  stone  buildings  in  Albany  have 
their  walls  of  these  natural-face  blocks. 

Schenectady. —  Shears  &  Dunsbach  have  a  quarry  on  the 
canal,  one  mile  east  of  the  railroad  depot,  which  is  the 
source  of  supply  to  a  large  extent,  for  stone  used  in  the  city, 
although  shipments  are  made  to  Albany,  Waterford, 
Cohoes,  Troy,  Mechanicsville  and  Saratoga. 

This  stone  can  be  seen  in  the  Memorial  hall  of  Union 
university  and  in  the  East  Avenue  Presbyterian  church; 


260 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


in  the  new  armory,  Albany ;  in  the  church  at  Menand’s 
station,  and  in  St.  Patrick’s  Roman  Catholic  church  in 
West  Troy.  The  stone  has  a  bluish  shade  of  color  and 
is  fine-grained. 

Duanesburgh,  Schenectady  County.—  A  quarry  in  a  bluish- 
colored  sandstone,  probably  of  the  same  geological  horizon 
as  that  of  the  Schenectady  quarry,  is  here  worked  by  Albert 
Shear  &  Co.  The  stone  is  rather  coarse-grained  but  is 
stronger  than  the  Schenectady  bluestone. 

The  shaly  nature  of  much  of  the  Hudson  river  group  of 
rocks  in  the  Mohawk  valley,  west  of  Schenectady,  and  the 
accessibility  of  good  limestone  for  building  purposes,  has 
prevented  the  opening  of  quarries  in  it.  Further  west,  and 
near  Rome,  there  are  small  quarries  which  are  referred  to 
this  horizon,  but  they  are  unimportant.  The  sandstone 
quarries  in  the  towns  of  Camden,  Oneida  County,  and  of 
Orwell,  in  Oswego  County,  belong  in  it.  The  stone  is  gener¬ 
ally  gray  in  color,  fine-grained  and  hard,  and  in  moderately 
thick  beds.  None  of  these  quarries  do  much  more  than  a 
small  local  business  ;  and  they  are  not  in  operation  all  of  the 
working  season  of  the  year. 

Good  building  stone  of  the  Hudson  river  horizon  is  said 
to  have  been  obtained  at  quarries  south-east  of  Rome  ;  also 
at  Woodruff’s,  Oneida  County.* 

Sandstone  of  the  Medina  Epoch 

Oswego,  Oswego  County. — Quarries  for  the  supply  of  stone 
for  foundation  and  retaining  walls  in  the  city,  are  opened  on 
the  lake  shore,  east  of  the  Fort  Ontario  grounds. 

Oswego  Falls,  Oswego  County — The  river  cuts  through 
the  sandstone  here  and  offers  facilities  for  small  quarrying 
operations  in  the  bluffs  on  the  left  bank.  A  dark-red  sand¬ 
stone  is  obtained  under  earth  and  shaly  rock.  The  First 
Presbyterian  church  in  Syracuse  is  an  example  of  badly  se- 


*  Survey  of  the  Third  Geological  District,  Lardner  Van,uxem,  Albany,  1842,  p.  261. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  26 1 

lected  stone  and  set  on  edge  in  many  cases.  A  great  deal 
of  it  has  been  used  in  Fulton,  Oswego  and  Syracuse. 

A  specimen  from  the  quarry  of  Hughes  Brothers  of  Syra¬ 
cuse  was  found  to  have  a  specific  gravity  of  2.62,  and  an 
equivalent  weight  of  163.5  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot.  It 
contained  0.59  per  cent  of  ferrous  oxide,  and  1.71  per  cent 
of  ferric  oxide.  The  absorption  test  gave  as  a  result  3.53 
per  cent.  It  lost  weight  in  the  treatment  with  acid  solu¬ 
tions.  In  the  freezing  and  thawing  it  checked  badly,  and 
at  a  high  heat  its  color  became  brick-red,  and  its  strength 
was  impaired. 

Granby,  Oswego  County. —  The  Granby  Brownstone  Com¬ 
pany,  O.  J.  Jennings,  manager,  works  the  quarry  on  the 
line  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  railroad, 
two  miles  south  of  Fulton.  The  stone  is  fine-grained,  pur¬ 
plish-red  in  color,  and  admits  of  fine-tool  dressing.  It  has 
been  used  in  the  following  structures  in  neighboring  towns 
and  cities:  Second  National  Bank  building,  Oswego;  Pro¬ 
testant  Episcopal  church,  and  a  block  of  stores  in  Cortland; 
and  new  Jewish  synagogue,  Buffalo. 

Small  quarries  are  opened  westward  in  this  formation  at 

Camden,  Oneida  County 
Sterling,  Cayuga  County 
Wolcott,  Wayne  County 
Penfield,  Monroe  County 

At  Rochester  the  gorge  of  the  Genesee  river  exposes  to 
view  a  fine  section  of  the  formation.  F'ormerly  some  stone 
was  obtained  from  quarries  in  the  river  bluffs.  In  Monroe 
county  generally  this  sandstone  is  too  argillaceous  to  be 
durable.* 

What  is  more  particularly  known  as  the  Medina  sand¬ 
stone  district,  is  that  portion  of  the  outcrop  which  extends 
from  Brockport  in  Monroe  county  west  to  Lockport.  The 
belt  is  narrow,  and  the  quarries  are  opened  in  it  near  the 
Erie  canal.  They  are  grouped  here  as  follows  : 


*  Prof.  Hall’s  Report  on  the  Survey  of  the  Fourth  District,  Albany,  1843,  pp.  432-3. 


262 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Brockport,  Monroe  County 
Holley,  Orleans  County 
Hulberton,  Orleans  County 
Hindsburgh,  Orleans  County 
Albion,  Orleans  County 
Medina,  Orleans  County 
Shelby  Basin,  Orleans  County 
Lockport,  Niagara  County 

Brockport. —  Two  quarries  are  opened  at  this  place. 

Holley,  Orleans  County. —  There  are  five  quarries  at  Hol¬ 
ley.  Those  of  Downs  &  Gorman,  Michael  Slack,  and 
O’Brien  &  Co.,  Fletcher  &  Sons,  and  the  Big  Six  Stone 
Company  are  near  the  canal  and  the  New  York  Central  rail¬ 
road.  The  beds  lie  nearly  horizontal,  and  under  a  light 
stripping  of  earth  and  boulders.  The  stone  is  of  a  light  red 
color  and  fine-grained. 

The  output  is  largely  in  the  form  of  blocks  for  street 
paving,  curbing,  crosswalks  and  gutter-stone. 

Rochester,  Buffalo,  Syracuse,  and  western  cities,  as  far  as 
Kansas  City,  are  markets. 

Hulberton,  Orleans  County.—  This  group  of  quarries  is 
west  of  the  village,  on  the  north  side  of  the  canal,  stretching 
along  a  distance  of  two  and  a  half  miles.*  They  are  all 
worked  to  a  depth  below  the  canal  water-level,  and  pump¬ 
ing  is  necessary  to  drain  them.  The  stripping  of  drift- 
earth  does  not  exceed  ten  feet.  Some  of  the  beds  are 
thick,  and  blocks  of  large  size  are  obtained.  The  stone  is 
mostly  fine-grained,  and  light  to  dark-red  in  color.  The 
best  quality  is  shipped  for  building  stone.  The  greater  part 
of  the  product  is  split  into  paving  blocks  and  crosswalks 
and  curbstone,  which  are  shipped  to  Rochester,  Buffalo  and 
western  cities. 

Much  of  the  Hulberton  stone  is  sold  under  the  name  of 

*Sturaker  &  Sullivan,  Thomas  Lardner,  R.  O’Reilly,  A.  Squire,  L.  Cornell,  C.  Van 
York,  C.  S.  Gwyn,  M.  Scanlon,  Hebner  Brothers,  George  Hebner,  E.  Fairhen  and 
- Ford  have  quarries  here. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  263 

Medina  block.  Examples  in  construction  are  the  Delaware 
Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Buffalo,  and  Sibley 
college,  Cornell  university,  Ithaca. 

Albion,  Orleans  County. —  The  largest  quarries  of  Medina 
sandstone  are  at  Albion.  They  are  east  of  the  town,  be¬ 
tween  the  canal  and  the  New  York  Central  railroad.  The 
parties  here  at  work  are  :  Goodrich  and  Clark  Stone 
Company ;  Albion  Stone  Company,  and  Gilbert  Brady. 
The  stripping  on  the  sandstone  is  from  three  to  fifteen 
feet  thick.  The  beds  dip  a  few  degrees  to  the  south,  and 
are  of  varying  thickness  from  a  few  inches  up  to  six  feet. 
Regular  systems  of  joints  facilitate  greatly  quarrying  oper¬ 
ations.  There  is  considerable  variation  in  the  nature  of  the 
stone  in  the  several  beds,  and  even  in  the  same  bed,  as  fol¬ 
lowed  in  the  same  quarry.  Generally  it  is  of  a  light  red 
color,  and  finegrained. 

A  specimen  representing  the  best  building  stone,  as  quar¬ 
ried  by  Mr.  Brady,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  2.598,  and  a 
weight  (calculated)  per  cubic  foot  of  162  pounds.  The  per¬ 
centage  of  oxide  of  iron  is  comparatively  low,  being  0.51 
and  0.09  for  ferrous  oxide  and  ferric  oxide,  respectively. 
The  absorption  test  gave  2.37  per  cent.  The  losses  in 
weight,  in  the  tests  with  carbonic  acid  gas  and  sulphurous 
acid  gas,  were  0.09  and  0.29  per  cent.  The  treatment  with 
sulphuric  acid,  1  per  cent  solution,  occasioned  a  loss 
of  0.08.  The  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  produced  no 
visible  effect.  After  a  subjection  to  a  high  temperature 
and  sudden  cooling,  the  strength  was  but  little  impaired 
and  the  color  was  slightly  changed. 

These  quarries  employ  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  men,  each,  and  the  aggregate  product,  annually, 
amounts  to  many  thousands  of  tons.  The  bulk  of  the  stone 
quarried  by  the  Albion  Stone  Company,  and  the  Goodrich 
and  Clark  Stone  Company,  is  used  for  street  purposes,  as 
paving,  curbing,  gutters  and  crosswalks-  Platforms  of  large 
10 


\ 


264 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


size,  and  smooth  and  true  surfaces,  are  cut  from  some  of  the 
thick  beds. 

The  paving  blocks  are  sold  principally  to  western  cities  — 
Erie,  Akron,  Cleveland,  Toledo,  Columbus,  Detroit,  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee.  The  Brady  quarry  produces  stone  for 
building,  principally. 

These  quarries  are  conveniently  located  for  working,  at 
the  side  of  canal  and  railroad,  and  are  well  equipped  for 
large  business. 

Some  examples  of  the  Albion  stone  are  the  Presbyterian 
church,  Albion  ;  the  Iroquois  hotel,  Young  Men’s  Associa¬ 
tion  building  and  Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  in 
Buffalo  ;  Guernsey  building,  No.  160  Broadway,  New  York 
city  ;  steps  of  the  new  staircase,  capitol  in  Albany. 

[For  other  examples,  see  notes  on  stone  construction  in 
cities.] 

Medina,  Orleans  County. —  Medina  has  given  name  to  this 
sandstone  formation  because  of  its  development  and  the 
characteristic  fossils,  which  are  abundant  in  some  of  the  gray 
beds,  at  this  locality.  Within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  rail¬ 
road  station  there  are ;  north  and  north-east  of  the  town, 
Kearney  &  Barrett,  A.  M.  Holloway,  Sara  J.  Horan,  Buffalo 
Paving  Company,  Noble  &  Lyle  and  C.  A.  Gorman  owning 
quarries.  The  working  season  is  naturally  from  the  first  of 
April  to  the  middle  of  November.  The  rest  of  the  year  is 
is  given  to  stripping  off  the  overlying  earth  and  waste 
rock.  As  compared  with  the  stone  of  the  quarries  in  the 
Medina  sandstone  formation,  eastward,  the  color  is  lighter 
gray,  and  there  is  the  varigated,  or  spotted  red  and  white, 
and  a  light-red.  Generally  it  is  harder.  Oblique  lamina¬ 
tion  in  the  beds  is  more  common  than  at  Albion  or  Hulber- 
ton.  Pyrite-coated  seams  and  joint  faces  are  seen,  more  in 
the  older  quarries,  now  idle.  Formerly,  the  light-colored, 
gray  stone  was  in  demand,  and  was  quarried  for  building  ; 
now,  nearly  all  of  the  gray  variety  is  split  into  paving 
blocks,  and  the  fashion  for  building  calls  for  the  red  and 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  265 

the  varigated  stones.  At  the  extreme  north-east  the  Noble 
&  Lyle  quarry  produces  a  reddish-brown  stone  which  is  more 
like  the  Hulberton  stone,  and  is  rather  softer  than  that  of  the 
quarries  to  the  west  and  south-west.  It  is  used  for  building 
almost  exclusively.  In  this  quarry,  and  in  some  of  the 
others,  a  red,  shaly  rock,  known  here  as  “  red  horse,”  is 
found  under  the  quarry  beds,  which  is  waste,  The  dip  is 
south  at  a  small  angle  ;  a  regular  system  of  vertical  joints 
runs  an  east-west  course,  with  a  north-south  system,  less  well 
defined.  The  total  thickness  of  quarry  beds  is  in  places  as 
much  as  thirty  feet,  and  the  range  is  from  two  inches  to  six 
feet.  The  larger  part  of  the  aggregate  production  of  these 
quarries  is  put  into  street  material.  The  chief  markets  are 
Syracuse,  Rochester,  Buffalo,  Erie,  Cleveland,  Columbus 
and  Toledo,  Detroit,  Milwaukee,  and  as  far  west  as  Omaha 
and  Kansas  City. 

Lockport. —  Quarries  in  the  Medina  sandstone  formation 
were  opened  near  the  town,  to  the  north,  as  early  as  1824, 
and  much  stone  was  put  in  buildings,  which  are  good  exam¬ 
ples  of  its  durability.  The  quarries  are  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Eighteen  Mile  creek,  and  are  connected  with  the 
New  York  Central  railroad  by  a  branch  road  one  mile  in 
length.  Stone  for  flagging,  paving  blocks,  and  for  building 
is  obtained.  Gray,  red  and  mottled  varieties  occur  in  these 
openings.  Formerly  these  quarries  furnished  stone  to  out¬ 
side  buyers ;  at  present,  they  are  worked  almost  exclusively 
for  the  local  market. 

Lewiston,  Niagara  County. —  The  same  formation  has  af¬ 
forded  some  building,  and  some  flagging-stone  at  this 
locality. 


Hamilton  and  Portage  Groups 

Hudson  River  Blue-stone 

The  term  “  Hudson  River  Blue-stone”  is  used  to  desig¬ 
nate  the  blue,  fine-grained,  compact  and  even-bedded  sand- 
34 


266 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


stone,  which  is  so  largely  employed  for  flagging  and  house 
trimmings  in  New  York  city,  and  to  some  extent  in  all  of 
our  middle  Atlantic  coast  cities  and  towns.  '‘The  belt  of 
country  in  which  it  is  quarried  is  nearly  one  hundred  miles 
long  in  New  York,  stretching  from  the  south-western  towns 
of  Albany  county,  across  Greene  and  Ulster  and  the  western 
part  of  Orange  and  eastern  part  of  Sullivan  counties  to  the 
Delaware  river.  In  Albany  and  Greene  counties  it  is  nar¬ 
row,  as  also  in  Saugerties  in  Ulster  county,  making  the  foot 
hills,  as  it  were,  on  the  east  and  east-south-east  of  the  Cats- 
kill  mountains,  and  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  older  lime¬ 
stone  formations.  It  widens  in  the  towns  of  Kingston, 
Woodstock,  Hurley,  Olive  and  Marbletown,  and  in  them 
the  quarries  are  distributed  over  the  500-foot  plateau  which 
borders  the  mountains  on  the  south-east.  To  the  north¬ 
west,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Esopus  creek,  many  localities 
near  the  line  of  the  Ulster  and  Delaware  railroad  have  been 
opened  and  worked.  They  are  a  part  of  the  blue-stone  dis¬ 
trict  geographically,  although  the  geological  formations 
are  not  the  equivalent  of  the  main  belt  at  the  south-east. 
There  are  scattering  localities  in  the  towns  of  Rochester  and 
Wawarsing  and  thence  south-west,  in  Sullivan  county  which 
furnish  blue-stone  for  local  markets,  and  for  exportation 
where  they  are  situated  near  enough  to  lines  of  shipping.” 

The  belt,  as  above  described,  has  in  it  outcrops  of  shales 
and  sandstones,  belonging  to  the  several  geological  forma¬ 
tions,  from  the  Hamilton  period  to  and  including  the  Cats- 
kill,  in  short,  rocks  of  the  Upper  Devonian  age.  There 
are  quarries  along  the  Hudson  river  at  New  Baltimore,  and 
thence  southward,  at  Coxsackie  and  Catskill  and  near  Ron- 
dout,  but  they  are  not  in  the  typical  blue-stone,  but  in  the 
sandstone  of  the  Hudson  river  slate  formation.  The  quar¬ 
ries  of  Palenville  and  vicinity,  of  West  Saugerties,  High 
Woods,  Boiceville,  Phoenicia,  Woodland  Hollow,  Shandaken, 
and  Pine  Hill  are  above  the  horizon  of  the  Hamilton  forma¬ 
tion  and  probably  all  in  the  Catskill  group  of  rocks.  The 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  267 

Oneonta  sandstone,  which  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Portage 
group,  may  form  a  part  of  the  belt  near  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  but  it  is  impossible  to  define  its  limits  and  to 
designate  the  quarries  in  it.  The  quarries  at  Roxbury  and 
Margaretville  and  their  vicinity,  are  in  the  Catskill  forma¬ 
tion.  And  the  openings  along  the  Monticello  railroad,  in 
Sullivan  county,  are  probably  in  the  same  horizon.  The 
main  blue-stone  belt,  where  it  has  been  so  extensively 
opened,  as  in  the  towns  of  Saugerties,  Kingston  and  Hur¬ 
ley,  is  of  the  Hamilton  period. 

“  Beginning  at  the  north-east,  there  are  small  quarries  at 
Reidsville  and  Dormansville,  seven  miles  west  of  the  Hudson 
river,  and  in  Albany  county.  They  have  furnished  a  great 
deal  of  stone  for  flagging  in  the  city  of  Albany.  The  stone 
of  these  quarries  is  gray  in  color  and  rather  coarser-grained 
than  the  typical  blue-stone  of  the  Hudson  river  quarries. 

“In  Greene  county  there  are  several  small  quarries  near 
Leeds,  which  are  worked  mainly  for  the  Catskill  market. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Cairo  stone  is  quarried  at  several  places, 
and  shipped  by  rail.  On  the  line  of  the  Stony  Clove  and 
Catskill  Mountain  railroad,  and  along  the  Kaaterskill  rail¬ 
road,  quarries  have  been  opened,  from  the  mountain  houses 
southwest  to  Phoenicia.” 

Ulster  county  is  the  largest  producer  of  blue-stone,  and 
its  quarry  districts  are  the  following  :  Quarryville,  West 
Saugerties  and  High  Woods,  in  the  town  of  Saugerties*; 
Dutch  Settlement,  Hallihan  Hill,  Jockey  Hill,  Dutch  Hill 
and  Stony  Hollow,  in  the  town  of  Kingston  ;  Bristol  Hill, 
Morgan  Hill,  Steenykill  and  West  Hurley,  in  the  town  of 
Hurley;  Marbletown,  Woodstock,  Broadhead’s  Bridge, 
Shokan,  Boiceville,  Phoenicia,  Woodland  Hollow,  Fox  Hol¬ 
low,  Shandaken,  Pine  Hill,  and  Rochester  and  Wawarsing 
quarries,  in  the  valley  of  Rondout  creek  and  its  tributaries. 

There  is  much  variation  in  the  several  quarries  of  these 
localities,  both  in  the  nature  and  thickness  of  the  overlying 
earth  or  stripping,  and  in  the  number  and  thickness  of  the 


268 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


workable  quarry  beds.  A  large  number  of  quarries  have 
been  opened,  and  at  many  places  the  valuable  stone  has 
been  removed  and  the  quarries  abandoned.  At  other  lo¬ 
calities  the  thickness  of  the  overlying  earth  and  the  long 
distance  from  transportation  lines  have  prevented  their 
further  development.  The  tendency  of  later  years  has 
been  to  open  quarries  nearer  the  lines  of  railroad,  and  to 
leave  localities  more  distant,  so  that  the  number  of  quarries 
in  the  territory  adjacent  to  the  Ulster  and  Delaware  road 
has  been  greatly  increased.  The  aggregate  output  of  this 
part  of  the  territory  has  not  materially  increased  within  the 
last  few  years,  in  consequence  of  the  abandonment  of  many 
quarries  and  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the  quarry  indus¬ 
try  by  the  business  relations  to  which  it  is  subject. 

The  quarry  beds  range  from  an  inch  to  three  feet  and,  in 
some  instances,  up  to  six  feet  in  thickness.  The  top  beds 
are  generally  thin.  In  most  cases  these  thick  strata  can  be 
split  along  planes  parallel  to  the  bedding  and  the  cap- 
layer  is  raised  by  means  of  wedges.  The  size  of  blocks  ob¬ 
tained  is  determined  by  the  natural  joints  which  divide  the 
stone  vertically.  Stones  sixty  feet  by  twenty  feet  have  thus 
been  lifted  from  a  bed.  The  facilities  for  handling  and  lift¬ 
ing  really  limit  the  size.  The  thicker  stone  are  cut  into 
curbing,  crosswalk  and  sidewalk  stones  and  large  platforms, 
yielding  what  is  known  as  flag-stone.  The  thinner  beds 
furnish  flagging  for  towns  and  villages.  A  part  of  the 
thinner  stone  is  cut  into  dimension  work  for  water-tables, 
sills,  lintels,  posts  and  window-caps  or  house  trimmings  in 

“  The  stone  obtained  in  these  several  districts  varies  in 
color,  hardness  and  texture  and  consequently  in  value,  from 
quarry  to  quarry,  and  even  in  the  same  quarry.  In  nearly 
all  of  the  localities  the  beds  vary  a  little  from  top  down¬ 
wards  ;  rarely  is  there  much  variation  horizontally,  or  in  the 
same  bed.  Hence,  any  given  bed  may  be  said  to  have  a 
certain  character,  that  is,  produces  a  given  grade  of  stone. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  269 


The  color  is  predominantly  dark-gray  or  bluish-gray,  and 
hence  (more  by  contrast  with  the  red  sandstones)  a  “  blue- 
stone.”  Reddish-brown  and  some  greenish-gray  stones 
occur  in  the  quarries  higher  in  the  mountain  sides,  as  in  the 
valley  of  the  Esopus  creek  above  Shokan  and  in  the  Palen- 
ville  quarries.  There  is  a  decided  preference  for  the 
typical  “  blue-stone  ”  over  the  reddish  or  brownish-colored 
grades.  In  texture  the  range  is  from  the  fine  shaly  or  argilla¬ 
ceous  to  the  highly  siliceous  and  even  conglomeratic  rock. 
The  best  blue-stone  is  rather  fine-grained  and  not  very 
plainly  laminated,  and  its  mass  is  nearly  all  silica  or  quartz, 
which  is  cemented  together  by  a  siliceous  paste  and  con¬ 
tains  very  little  argillaceous  matter.  Hence,  the  stone  is 
hard  and  durable  and  has  great  strength  or  capacity  of  re¬ 
sistance  to  crushing  or  compression.  Coarse-grained  sand¬ 
stones  and  even  fine  conglomerates  occur  and  are  quarried 
in  some  localities.  These  sandstones  are  not  often  found 
loosely  cemented  together  and  friable  ;  and  they  are  rarely 
open  and  porous.” 

A  representative  specimen  of  the  best  Hudson  river  blue- 
stone,  and  obtained  from  the  Bigelow  Bluestone  Company 
of  Malden,  was  subjected  to  a  series  of  tests,  with  the  fol¬ 
lowing  result :  specific  gravity,  2.751  ;  weight  per  cubic  foot, 
1 71  pounds  ;  ferrous  oxide,  4.63  per  cent  ;  ferric  oxide,  o.  79 
per  cent;  water  absorbed,  0.82;  loss  in  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  solution,  0.20  percent;  alternate  freezingand  thawing, 
unchanged;  at  temperature  of  i200°-i400°  F.  color 
changed  to  dull  red,  slightly  checked  and  strength  some¬ 
what  impaired. 

"The  blue-stone  territory  south-west  of  Ulster  county  is 
confined  to  a  narrow  belt  crossing  the  towns  of  Mamakat- 
ing,  Thompson,  Forestburgh  and  Cumberland  in  Sullivan 
county,  and  Deerpark  in  Orange  county.  And  there  are 
quarries  near  Westbrookville,  near  Wurtsborough,  along 
the  Monticello  railroad  and  on  the  Delaware  river  at  Pond- 
Eddy  and  Barryville.” 


270 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Flag-stone  is  obtained  along  the  lines  of  the  New  York, 
Ontario  and  Western  railroad,  and  of  the  Ulster  and  Dela¬ 
ware  railroad  at  Westfield  Flats,  Trout  Brook,  East  Branch, 
Margaretville,  Roxbury  and  Grand  Gorge.  All  of  these 
quarries  are  in  the  Catskill  group  of  rocks,  and  the  stone 
from  them  is  more  generally  a  reddish  or  brown-tinted 
sandstone. 

It  is  more  open-grained  and  not  so  dense  and  strong  as 
the  best  Ulster  county  stone.  It  reaches  the  market  with 
the  product  of  the  Ulster  county  quarry  and  is  included  in 
the  blue-stone  production.  The  principal  shipping  points 
whence  blue-stone  comes  to  market  are  Malden,  Saugerties, 
Kingston  (including  Wilbur  and  Rondout).  A  great  deal 
of  stone  is  cut  for  house  trimmings,  in  mills  in  Malden, 
Broadhead’s  Bridge,  West  Hurley,  Wilbur,  Kingston  and 
Rondout,  but  the  larger  number  of  feet  is  sent  into  market 
simply  quarry-dressed,  for  flagging  and  curbing.  Its  superi¬ 
ority  as  a  flagging-stone  is  recognized  generally  by  residents 
of  New  York  city  and  adjacent  towns  where  it  has  been  so 
extensively  used. 

“  It  is  so  compact  as  not  to  absorb  moisture  to  any  ex¬ 
tent,  and  hence  soon  dries  after  rain  or  ice  ;  it  has  the  hard¬ 
ness  to  resist  abrasion  and  wears  well  ;  it  is  even-bedded, 
and  thus  presents  a  good  and  smooth  natural  surface  ;  and 
it  has  a  grain  which  prevents  it  becoming  smooth  and  slip¬ 
pery  as  some  of  our  granites,  our  slates  and  our  limestones, 
when  so  used  in  walks.  It  is  strong,  and  is  not  apt  to  get 
broken.  But  owing  to  the  many  thin  beds  and  the  use  of 
too  thin  stones,  sidewalks  often  become  unsightly  and  bad 
because  of  breaks,  a  fault  common  to  all  flag-stone  when  laid 
in  such  thin  beds  or  blocks. 

“  For  use  in  houses  and  business  buildings  Hudson  river 
blue-stone  is  having  an  increasing  market.  It  is  admirably 
adapted  for  lintels,  window-caps,  sills,  door-steps,  water- 
tables,  etc.,  with  brick,  both  because  of  its  strength  and  its 
durability.  None  of  our  sandstones  from  other  districts, 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  271 

and  not  even  our  best  granites,  are  as  strong  to  resist  trans¬ 
verse  pressure  or  strain.  Tests  (comparative)  show  that  it 
is  fully  three  times  as  strong,  in  this  way  of  resistance,  as 
granite,  marble,  Ohio  sandstone  and  Connecticut  and  New 
Jersey  brownstones.  To  resist  compression  it  is  not  much 
superior  to  these  sandstones,  and  not  equal  to  the  best 
granites.  And  its  strength  against  transverse  strains  fits  it 
for  lintels,  sills,  caps,  and  water-tables  especially.” 

Oxford,  Chenango  County. —  The  F.  G.  Clark  Bluestone 
Company,  successor  of  F.  G.  Clark  &  Son,  has  the  large 
quarry  on  the  north-west  of  the  village,  and  in  the  hillside 
west  of  the  Chenango  river. 

The  strata  are  horizontal,  and  thin  at  the  top  ;  below,  the 
thick  bedded  “  liver  rock  ”  is  found,  from  which  blocks  of 
large  size  are  cut.  The  stone  is  blue,  fine-grained  and 
homogeneous  in  texture.  Its  specific  gravity  is  2.71 1,  and 
its  weight  per  cubic  foot  168.9  pounds.  The  absorbed  water 
was  found  to  be  1. 1 1  per  cent.  It  was  not  materially  affected 
by  the  freezing  and  thawing  tests.  At  a  high  temperature 
— •i2000-i400°  F.,  the  color  was  changed  to  dull  red,  and 
the  stone  was  checked  badly. 

A  partial  analysis  showed  the  presence  of  3.46  per  cent 
and  0.16  per  cent  of  ferrous  acid  and  ferric  acid  respectively. 
A  crushing  test  of  the  strength  of  this  stone,  made  in  1884, 
showed  a  resistance  of  13,472  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

Architects  and  builders  object  to  this  stone  in  common* 
with  other  blue-stone,  for  work  in  which  there  is  much 
carving  and  fine  tooling,  on  account  of  its  hardness  and  the 
greater  expense  involved  in  working  it,  as  compared  with 
softer  sandstones  and  limestones. 

The  plant  includes  a  planer,  rubbing-bed  and  three  gangs 
of  saws,  driven  by  steam  power,  besides  quarrying  machin¬ 
ery  proper. 

The  principal  use  is  for  house  trimmings  and  large  plat¬ 
forms  and  steps.  During  the  quarrying  season  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  are  employed,  and  in  1889  one  thousand  four 


2  72 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


hundred  car-loads  of  stone  were  shipped.  The  market  is  in 
the  cities  of  the  eastern  states. 

The  lower  portion  of  Aldrich  court,  41-43  Broadway,  the 
steps,  residence  of  Cyrus  Clark,  Riverside  avenue  and 
Ninetieth  street,  New  York  ;  steps  in  the  terrace  approaching 
the  capitol,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia;  steps, 
platforms,  and  column-bases  of  capitol,  Trenton,  New 
Jersey;  St.  Lawrence  hall,  New  Haven,  Connecticut; 
part  of  state  prison  for  insane  criminals,  Matteawan,  New 
York,  are  some  of  the  examples  of  construction  in  which 
the  Oxford  blue  sandstone  has  been  employed. 

Small  quarries  producing  flagging-stone,  mainly,  are 
opened  at 

South  Oxford,  Chenango  County 
Coventry,  Chenango  County 
Smithville  Flats,  Chenango  County 
Guilford,  Chenango  County 
Oneonta,  Otsego  County 
Cooperstown,  Otsego  County 

They  are  worked  at  irregular  times  as  demand  calls  for 
stone. 

Trumansburgh,  Tompkins  County.—  In  the  vicinity  of  Tru- 
mansburgh  there  are  twenty  or  more  quarries  which  pro¬ 
duce  four  hundred  thousand  square  feet  of  flagging  annually. 
Two  of  them  only  do  a  little  business  in  building  stone,  the 
quarries  of  F.  C.  Biggs  and  of  the  Flagstone  and  Building 
Stone  Company.  That  of  the  latter  is  one  mile  east  of  the 
village  and  less  than  a  mile  from  Cayuga  lake.  The  grayish- 
bluestone  of  the  lower  course  of  the  quarry  is  fine-grained, 
and  is  cut  into  lintels,  sills  and  curbing  at  the  company’s 
works  at  Cayuga,  or  shipped  to  their  yards  at  Mott  Haven, 
New  York. 

The  Biggs  quarry  is  on  the  Taughannock  creek  about 
two  miles  west  of  the  lake  and  near  the  Geneva,  Ithaca  and 
Sayre  railroad  line.  The  stone  here  is  known  as  the  blue 
sandstone  and  resembles  in  appearance  the  Hudson  river 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  273 

blue-stone,  but  is  harder  to  work  and  apparently  a  little 
more  dense.  Stone  from  this  quarry  is  seen  in  the  large 
vault  in  Grove  cemetery,  Trumansburgh.  A  part  of  the 
product  is  monumental  bases. 

The  stone  from  these  quarries  is  carried  by  boats  to 
Cayuga,  whence  it  goes  to  New  York  and  to  cities  in  the 
central  and  western  part  of  the  state. 

Ithaca,  Tompkins  County.— Nearly  all  of  the  stone  for 
foundations  and  retaining  walls,  and  much  of  the  flagging- 
stone  used  in  Ithaca,  comes  from  local  quarries.  There  are 
two  quarries  on  the  hill  south  of  the  town  whence  flagging- 
stone  is  taken.  Some  of  the  stone  for  the  university  build¬ 
ings  was  quarried  on  the  university  grounds.  The  sand¬ 
stone  of  these  quarries  is  of  a  greenish-gray  shade  of  color, 
fine-grained,  and  is  durable,  when  selected  with  care.  The 
natural-face  blocks  are  often  rusty-looking,  ironstained,  or 
dirty-yellow.  Cascadilla  hall  is  an  example  of  the  best  of  it. 


Sandstone  of  the  Clinton  Group 

This  formation  furnishes  a  building  stone  in  Herkimer 
and  Oneida  counties,  and  quarries  are  opened  in  the  towns 
of  Frankfort,  New  Hartford,  Kirkland  and  Verona.  The 
city  of  Utica  uses  the  greater  part  of  the  stone  from  the 
quarries  at  Clinton  and  those  on  Frankfort  Hill.  The  stone 
of  the  latter  place  is  dark-gray  and  red-brown  in  color,  me¬ 
dium  fine-grained  and  hard,  so  that  dressing  is  costly.  It  is 
used  for  foundations  and  common  wall  work,  mainly.  Grace 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  on  Genesee  street,  and  the 
Lutheran  church,  on  Columbia  street,  are  built  of  this  stone. 

Sandstone  has  been  extensively  quarried  at  Higginsville, 
Oneida  County,  by  a  Utica  company.  It  is  dark-gray  and 
olive-green  in  color;  hard,  and  dressed  with  difficulty. 
Some  of  this  stone  has  been  used  in  Rome.  Fine  exam¬ 
ples  of  it  are  the  Baker  and  Gilbert  houses,  on  Genesee 
street,  Utica. 

35 


274 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Watkins  Glen,  Schuyler  County.— Sandstone  of  the  Portage 
group  is  here  opened  and  worked  by  the  Northern  Central 
Railroad  Company,  for  its  construction  on  lines  north  and 
south. 

Penn  Yan,  Yates  County. —  Sandstone  for  foundation  work 
is  quarried  near  Head  street,  and  on  the  east  side  of  the 
lake,  three  miles  north  of  the  village. 

Portage,  Livingston  County.— The  Portage  Blue  Stone 
Company’s  quarry  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  Genesee  river, 
two  miles  south  of  Portageville  and  three  miles  from  Port¬ 
age  station,  on  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western 
railroad.  The  Buffalo,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  rail¬ 
road  line  is  a  few  rods  east  of  the  quarry.  The  quarry  beds 
have  a  total  thickness  of  twenty-five  feet.  The  best  stone 
is  olive-green  in  color,  fine-grained,  homogeneous  in  texture, 
and  soft  enough  to  dress  well  and  to  be  easily  cut.  It  is 
said  to  harden  on  exposure  to  the  weather.  A  representa¬ 
tive  specimen  from  this  quarry  was  found  to  have  a  specific 
gravity  of  2.695  and  equivalent  to  a  weight  of  168  pounds 
per  cubic  foot.  The  absorption  test  indicated  2.97  per  cent 
of  water  absorbed  ;  treated  with  dilute  solution  of  sulphuric 
acid  the  loss  amounted  to  0.42  per  cent ;  freezing  and  thaw¬ 
ing  tests  produced  slight  scaling.  In  the  test,  at  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  i200°-i400°  F.,  the  color  changed  to  dull  red. 
There  were  no  checks,  and  the  strength  of  the  specimen 
was  but  little  impaired 

The  greater  part  of  the  stone  quarried  here  is  shipped  to 
New  York  city,  where  it  is  worked  up  into  house  trim¬ 
mings.  Some  of  it  is  sent  to  Rochester,  where  it  is  cut 
into  dimension  stone  at  the  Pitkin  yard.  The  Aldrich 
Court  building,  Nos.  41  and  43  Broadway,  New  York,  has 
Portage  stone  in  the  trimmings,  in  the  first  and  second 
stories.  Some  of  this  stone  was  used  in  the  United  States 
Government  building,  at  Binghamton. 

Warsaw,  Wyoming  County.— There  are  two  sandstone 
quarries  near  this  place.  The  Jameson  &  Warsaw  Manu- 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  275 

facturing  Company’s  quarry  is  two  miles  west  of  Rock  Glen, 
on  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western  railroad.  It  was 
opened  many  years  ago,  but  was  idle  in  1888-9.  Some  of 
the  stone  in  the  city  hall,  Rochester,  was  taken  from  this 
quarry.  The  Warsaw  Blue  Stone  Company’s  quarry  is  lo¬ 
cated  one-half  mile  from  Rock  Glen  station,  and  south  of 
Warsaw ;  a  side  track  runs  from  the  quarry  to  the  main 
line  of  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western  railroad. 
The  Warsaw  bluestone  is  very  fine-grained,  harder  than  the 
Ohio  sandstone,  and  retains  its  color  on  exposure.  It  has 
been  used  for  more  than  thirty  years,  in  Warsaw  and  vicin¬ 
ity,  for  monumental  bases  and  buildings. 

A  specimen  from  the  company’s  quarry  showed  a  specific 
gravity  of  2.681,  equivalent  to  a  weight  of  167  pounds  per 
cubic  foot.  It  contains  3.22  per  cent  of  ferric  oxide  and 
0.23  per  cent  of  ferrous  oxide.  The  absorption  test  gave  as 
a  result  2.99  per  cent ;  the  freezing  and  thawing  tests  pro¬ 
duced  slight  checking.  At  the  high  temperature  (12000- 
T4000  F.),  there  was  a  slight  vitrification,  somewhat  of 
checking,  and  the  color  was  changed  to  dull  red.  The 
quarrying  plant  has  been  largely  increased,  and  the  machin¬ 
ery  for  sawing  and  dressing  the  stone  has  been  set  up.  The 
output  during  the  year  1889  was  largely  in  excess  of  that  of 
any  previous4  year.  The  principal  use  of  this  stone  is  for 
house  trimmings.  The  markets  are  New  York  city,  Syra¬ 
cuse,  Elmira,  Corning,  Binghamton,  Philadelphia  and 
Washington.  The  Alpine,  corner  of  Sixth  avenue  and 
Thirty-fourth  street,  New  York  city,  the  United  States 
Government  building,  Binghamton,  and  the  Colgate  Library 
building,  Hamilton  college,  are  more  prominent  examples 
of  the  Warsaw  bluestone. 


Chemung  Group 

Waverly,  Tioga  County.  —  Two  quarries  are  opened  and 
worked  at  intervals  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place.  The  stone 


2  y6 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


is  blue  to  gray  and  rather  fine-grained.  It  has  been  used  in 
bridge  building  on  the  line  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
and  Western  railroad,  and  in  several  business  blocks  in 
Waverly  and  vicinity. 

Elmira,,  Chemung  County.  —  Four  quarries  have  been 
opened  in  the  sandstone  in  the  western  face  of  the  hill  which 
here  bounds  the  valley.  The  stone  is  fine-grained,  and  has  a 
gray  and  greenish-gray  color.  It  is  all  sold  in  the  rough  and 
used,  in  Elmira  for  common  wall  work,  and  some  of  it  for 
curbing.  The  average  cost  is  about  $i  a  perch  in  the  city. 

Corning,  Steuben  County. —  There  are  four  quarries  in  the 
sandstone  at  Corning,  in  the  southern  outskirts  of  the  town. 
The  stone  of  these  quarries  is  generally  fine-grained,  and  of 
a  grayish  color.  It  is  hard,  durable,  and  does  not  absorb 
much  moisture,  but  in  consequence  of  flinty-like  seams  in  it, 
it  cannot  be  dressed  or  fine-tooled  economically.  The 
natural-face  blocks  are  often  weathered  dirty  yellow  or 
brown  and  hence  the  need  of  careful  selection  of  stone. 
For  ordinary  wall  work  and  foundations,  it  answers  well. 
The  Corning  stone  has  been  used  in  Elmira,  in  the  Con¬ 
gregational  church  and  in  the  State  Reformatory  buildings. 
In  Corning,  the  old  arsenal,  built  about  thirty  years  ago, 
the  Roman  Catholic,  Protestant  Episcopal  and  First  Pres¬ 
byterian  church  buildings  are  all  of  this  stone.  The  best 
example  can  be  seen  in  the  basement-wall  of  the  high 
school,  and  in  the  basement  of  the  residence,  near  the  pub¬ 
lic  school,  in  which  work  great  care  was  taken  to  select  large 
stones  and  of  uniform  shade  of  color. 

Dansville,  Livingston  County.—  Sandstone  for  building  pur¬ 
poses  and  for  street  work  is  obtained  from  the  quarry,  one 
mile  north-east  of  the  village.  The  stone  is  bluish-gray  in 
color,  fine-grained  and  hard,  but  accompanied  by  much 
waste  rock. 

The  Chemung  sandstone  is  opened  in  Steuben  county  at 
Cohocton,  Bath,  Hornellsville,  and  in  the  town  of  Green 
wood. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  277 


At  the  Cohocton  quarry  the  output  is  all  cut  into  flag¬ 
ging,  which  is  used  in  the  adjacent  towns. 

In  the  town  of  Bath  two  quarries  are  worked.  The  stone 
is  of  a  light-gray  color,  fine-grained  and  rather  hard.  Curb¬ 
stone,  flagging  and  common  wall  stone,  are  obtained  from 
these  quarries.  The  county  buildings  and  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  and  Baptist  churches  are  built  of  this  stone. 

Two  quarries  are  opened  and  worked  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hornellsville.  The  stone  has  a  bluish  color,  is  hard  and  fine¬ 
grained.  The  product  of  these  quarries  is  mostly  common 
building  stones,  and  is  cut  at  Hornellsville.  The  Park 
school-house,  the  electric-light  building  and  several  stores 
and  residences  are  built  of  it. 

In  Allegany  county,  sandstone  quarries  are  opened  at 
Belmont,  at  Belvidere,  near  Belfast,  and  in  the  towns  of 
New  Hudson  and  Cuba.  The  Belmont  quarry  affords  a 
light-blue  stone,  which,  when  cut,  has  a  light-gray  shade, 
and  is  rather  soft  and  easily  dressed.  The  principal  mar¬ 
kets  are  Belmont,  Wellsville  and  Angelica.  Vanderhoef’s 
block,  in  Belmont,  besides  other  buildings,  are  of  this  stone. 

The  Belvidere  quarry  is  worked  in  a  small  way,  mainly 
for  the  local  market.  Some  of  the  stone  is  used  at  Friend¬ 
ship,  Angelica,  and  a  little  of  it  in  Wellsville  and  Hornells¬ 
ville.  1 

Two  miles  south  of  Belfast  sandstone  is  quarried  to  a  lim¬ 
ited  extent  for  a  supply  of  the  town.  The  Baptist  church  is 
constructed  of  this  stone. 

Flag-stone  is  quarried  in  the  town  of  New  Hudson,  near 
the  west  line  of  Belfast.  The  quarry  is  worked  to  a  small 
extent,  and  its  output  is  considered  the  best  in  this  part  of 
the  State. 

Olean,  Cattaraugus  County. — The  Olean  Blue  Stone  Com¬ 
pany  quarries  a  sandstone  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Olean,  and  about  seven  hundred  feet  above  the  Alleghany 
river.  Stone  for  building  and  flagging  is  obtained  and  is 
put  on  the  market  as  “Olean  bluestone.”  It  goes  to  Buf- 


278 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


falo  and  Rochester.  The  stone  is  fine-grained  and  has  a 
greenish-gray  shade  of  color. 

Jamestown,  Chautauqua  County. —  There  are  six  small 
quarries  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  near  the  lake  out¬ 
let.  Bedded  with  the  quarry  stone  there  is  much  shale,  and 
consequently  a  great  deal  of  waste  material  has  to  be  re¬ 
moved  in  quarrying.  The  bottom  beds,  from  twelve  to 
twenty  inches  thick,  furnish  stone  for  cut  work.  The  stone 
of  the  upper  strata  is  used  for  rubble  work.  The  Jamestown 
stone  is  olive-green  in  color,  fine-grained,  soft  and  breaks 
with  a  conchoidal  fracture.  It  has  had  an  extensive  use  at 
Chautauqua  and  in  Jamestown,  both  for  foundations  and  re¬ 
taining  walls  and  for  house  trimmings. 

Other  localities  in  Chautauqua  county  are  in  Panama;  in 
the  town  of  Clymer;  in  Westfield,  near  Lake  Erie  ;  and  at 
Laona,  in  Pomfret.  The  quarries  at  these  places  are  too 
small  and  comparatively  unimportant  for  general  descrip¬ 
tion. 

Triassic  or  New  Red  Sandstone 

Nyack,  Rockland  County. —  Two  quarries,  located  on  the 
shore  of  the  river,  are  worked  more  or  less  steadily  ;  one  by 
Daniel  T.  Smith,  the  other  by  Nelson  Puff.  The  stone  of 
these  quarries  is  worked  into  lintels,  sills  and  platforms. 
The  product  is  mainly  for  the  local  market. 

Haverstraw,  Rockland  County. —  The  sandstone  quarries 
at  Haverstraw  are  worked  only  at  long  intervals,  and  then 
for  common  building  stone  which  is  used  in  the  place. 

Formerly  these  Nyack  and  Haverstraw  quarries  were 
worked  on  a  large  scale,  and  stone  for  building  was  shipped 
thence  to  New  York  and  cities  along  the  Hudson  valley. 

The  house  still  standing  near  the  Smith  quarry,  which 
was  built  in  1768,  shows  the  durable  nature  of  the  stone. 
The  Cornelius  house  in  Nyack  is  another  example. 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  279 


Slate 

Argillyte  or  clay-slate,  which  is  marked  by  the  presence 
of  cleavage  planes,  and  can  be  split  into  thin  plates  of  uni¬ 
form  thickness  —  roofing-slate  —  is  a  characteristic  rock  in 
the  Hudson  river  group,  or  Hudson  terrane.  Shales, 
sandstones  and  fine  siliceous  conglomerates  are  often  .asso¬ 
ciated  with  the  slates. 

The  formation  occupies  the  valley  of  the  Wallkill,  in 
Orange  county,  the  Hudson-Champlain  valley,  from  the 
Highlands  north  to  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  Mohawk  val¬ 
ley  and  a  belt  west  and  north-west,  to  Lake  Ontario. 

Slate  suitable  for  roofing  has  been  found  in  many  locali¬ 
ties,  and  quarries  have  been  opened  in  Orange,  Dutchess, 
Columbia,  Rensselaer  and  Washington  counties.  The 
openings  in  Orange  county  have  not  resulted  in  productive 
quarries.  In  Columbia  county  quarries  were  worked  many 
years  ago,  east  of  New  Lebanon.*  The  Hoosick  quarries, 
in  Rensselaer  county,  were  more  extensively  worked,  and 
produced  a  good,  black  slate.  Outcrops  of  red  slate  are 
noted  east  of  the  Hudson,  from  Fishkill  and  Matteawan 
northward,  but  no  attempts  have  been  made  to  open  quar¬ 
ries  in  them. 

The  productive  slate  quarries  of  the  state  are  in  a  nar¬ 
row  belt,  which  runs  a  north-north-east  course  through  the 
towns  of  Salem,  Hebron,  Granville,  Hampton  and  White¬ 
hall,  in  Washington  county. 

This  slate  belt  is  divided  by  the  quarrymen  into  four 
parallel  ranges  or  “  veins,”  which  are:  East  Whitehall  red 
slates  ;  the  Mettowee,  or  North  Bend  red  slate  ;  the  purple, 
green  and  variegated  slates  of  Middle  Granville  ;  and  the 
Granville  red  slates.  The  latter  is  close  to  the  Vermont 
line.  Further  to  the  east,  but  over  the  state  line,  in  Ver¬ 
mont,  is  the  range  of  the  sea-green  slates. 

*Wm,  W.  Mather,  Geology  of  the  First  Geological  District,  Albany,  1843,  pages 
419-421. 


12 


280 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


The  quarry  localities  are  at  Shushan ;  Salem  ;  Black 
creek  valley,  in  the  town  of  Salem  ;  Slateville,  in  Hebron  ; 
Granville  ;  the  Penrhyn  Slate  Company’s  quarries,  Middle 
Granville;  Mettowee  or  North  Bend  quarries;  and  the 
Hatch  hill  quarries,  in  East  Whitehall. 

The  quarries  of  Washington  county  have  not  yet  been 
worked  down  to  as  great  depth  as  some  of  those  in  North¬ 
ampton  and  Lehigh  counties,  in  Pennsylvania;  and  the 
deepest  has  not  reached  a  vertical  depth  of  one  hundred 
feet. 

The  quarries  at  the  south-west,  in  Shushan  and  Salem, 
produce  purple,  variegated,  and  green  colored  slates.  At 
Salem  some  stone  for  flagging  and  foundation  work  is  ob¬ 
tained.  At  the  quarries  west  and  north-west  of  the  village 
of  Salem,  and  at  Slatesville,  in  Hebron,  the  slate  is  red. 

The  principal  range  of  red  slate  is  that  which  runs  from 
Granville  north  —  passing  east  of  Middle  Granville.  It  is 
narrow,  being  in  places  less  than  thirty  rods  wide.  There 
are  numerous  openings  in  it,  and  it  has  yielded  a  large 
amount  of  red,  and  some  unfading-green,  roofing  slate. 

In  Middle  Granville  the  purple,  green  and  variegated  va¬ 
rieties  are  found.  North  of  the  village,  a  quarter  to  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile,  are  the  large  openings  of  the  Penrhyn 
Slate  Company,  which  produce  purple,  unfading-green,  and 
variegated  (green  and  purple)  slates.  A  large  part  of  the 
output  of  these  quarries  is  worked  up  in  their  mills  into 
plain,  marbleized,  decorative  and  enamelled  material,  as 
mantels,  steps,  house  trimmings,  table  tops,  laundry  tubs, 
wainscoting  and  floor  tiles. 

The  Mettowee  or  North  Bend  quarries,  three  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  Middle  Granville,  are  worked  by  two  compa¬ 
nies.  Their  product  is  a  red  roofing  slate. 

The  Hatch  hill  group  of  quarries  is  six  miles  south-east 
of  Whitehall.  There  are  four  openings. 

The  slate  is  of  a  bright-red  color.  A  part  of  it  is  split 
at  the  quarry  into  roofing  material.  Perhaps  an  equally 


DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES  OF  QUARRY  DISTRICTS  AND  QUARRIES  281 

large  amount  is  cut  into  floor-tiling,  billiard-table  tops,  and 
house  trimming  materials.  These  quarries  are  much  deeper 
than  those  of  the  Granville  red  slate  range,  and  the  slate 
has  a  brighter  red  color,  and  is  more  easily  worked  than 
that  of  the  latter  range. 

Their  product,  mostly  finished  stock,  has  to  be  carted  by 
teams,  six  miles  to  Whitehall,  or  to  Middle  Granville,  ship¬ 
ping  points. 

The  green  slate  of  these  Washington  county  quarries  is 
almost  all  of  the  unfading  variety,  which  is  more  durable 
and  more  valuable  than  the  sea-green  slate.  The  variegated 
(purple  and  green)  also  is  durable,  but  is  softer  and  less 
valuable  than  the  red,  which  is  esteemed  for  roofing  and 
tiling  purposes. 

The  purple  and  green  slates  are  more  abundant,  and  are 
used  more  for  marbleizing. 

A  specimen  of  the  red  roofing  slate  of  Washington  county 
was  tested  and  found  to  have  a  specific  gravity  of  2.84, 
equivalent  to  a  weight  of  1 77  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  It 
contained  1.87  per  cent  of  ferrous  oxide  and  7.36  per  cent 
of  ferric  oxide.  Its  absorptive  percentage  was  o.  1 5.  It  lost 
0.07  per  cent  in  weight  in  the  sulphuric  acid  solution  test. 
It  remained  unchanged  in  tests  of  alternate  freezing  and 
thawing. 

The  estimated  production  of  red  roofing  slate  in  1889, 
was  5,000  squares.  The  ruling  prices  per  square  were  as 
as  follows:  * 

Red . . .  $8  00  to  $10  00. 

Purple . 3  50  to  4  00. 

Unfading-green .  3  50  to  4  00. 

Sea-green .  2  75  to  3  00. 

Variegated . 2  50  to  2  75. 

*  Letter  of  Hugh  Williams  of  Middle  Granville,  January  22,  1890. 

Note. —  A  recent  bulletin  of  the  United  States  Census  gives  a  list  of  firms  produc¬ 
ing  slate,  and  the  statistics  of  production,  labor,  wages,  etc.  According  to  this  report 
there  are  sixteen  quarries  in  this  State,  which  produced  in  1889,  17,167  squares  of 
roofing  slate,  and  slate  for  other  purposes  valued  at  $44,877,  making  a  total  value  of 
$130,603. 


36 


282 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


IV 

ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 

The  outcrops  of  the  geological  formations,  which  contain 
stone  suitable  for  building,  are  so  extensive  and  so  widely 
distributed  in  New  York  that  all  of  its  larger  towns  and 
cities  have  either  near,  or  within  their  limits,  quarries  for 
the  local  supply.  It  may  be  said  that  every  city  in  the 
state,  having  a  population  of  twenty  thousand  and  upward, 
excepting  Brooklyn,  is  built  on  rock.  And  there  are  stone 
quarries  in  nearly  all  of  them,  although  not  all  produce 
good  stone.  The  interior  water-ways  and  the  net-work  of 
railway  lines  afford  low  rates  of  transportation  and  a  choice 
of  building  stone  from  many  state  localities,  and  from  the 
great  stone-quarry  districts  of  New  England  and  of  the  west. 
Large  amounts  are  imported  from  Europe,  almost  exclusively 
for  construction  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  There  has 
been  a  notably  larger  use  of  stone  in  the  cities  of  the  central 
and  western-central  parts  of  the  state,  as  compared  with  the 
towns  in  the  Hudson  river  valley,  and  the  southern  tier  of 
counties.  Many  of  the  oldest  buildings  in  the  older  towns 
and  cities  are  of  stone.  The  later  introduction  of  brick, 
and  the  extraordinary  development  of  the  brick-making  in¬ 
dustry,  especially  in  the  Hudson  river  valley,  has  tended  to 
check  the  use  of  stone  for  ordinary  construction  ;  so  much 
so,  that  only  the  larger  and  more  permanent  structures  are 
of  stone.  The  increase  of  wealth,  and  a  better  architectural 
taste,  have  stimulated  the  building  of  expensive  stone 
dwelling-houses,  as  well  as  more  costly  church  edifices  and 
other  structures  for  public  use.  The  resources  of  the 
state,  in  its  numerous  quarries  of  the  most  durable  as  well 
as  beautiful  building  stone  are  great,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  all  who  are  in  any  wise  interested  in  the  beautifying  of 
homes,  and  in  the  erection  of  buildings  which  are  to  be  of 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


283 


a  permanent  character,  will  help  on  the  development  of  these 
natural  resources  in  the  greater  use  of  stone.  What  has  been 
said  of  the  cities  of  Great  Britain  applies  with  even  greater 
force  to  New  York;  the  “general  use  of  artificial  materials 
has  stamped  with  an  aspect  of  comparative  meanness  the 
street  architecture  of  many  large  cities  and  towns,  such 
as  London,  itself,  together  with  Dublin,  Birmingham  and 
Manchester,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  employment  of 
stone  in  the  construction  of  dwelling-houses,  as  well  as  the 
public  buildings,  has  imparted  to  the  cities  of  Edinburgh, 
Aberdeen,  Glasgow,  Brussels,  Paris  and  Rome  a  character 
of  solidity  and  beauty  which  forces  itself  on  the  attention  of 
the  most  careless  observer.”* 

The  notes  on  stone  construction  in  cities  of  the  state  are 
restricted  to  those  having  a  population  of  over  twenty 
thousand  and  are  given  under  their  respective  headings, 
arranged  in  a  geographical  order,  beginning  with  New  York. 

New  York 

The  division  of  the  city  into  districts,  which  are  bounded 
by  well-defined  lines  and  which  are  marked  by  distinguish¬ 
ing  characteristics  in  their  architectural  features  and  in  the 
use  of  constructive  material,  is  possible,  within  certain  broad 
limits,  exclusive  of  many  details  and  with  many  exceptions. 
Business  is  segregated,  to  a  great  extent,  in  certain  locali¬ 
ties,  and  on  lines  which  run  out  from  these  centers  for 
miles  into  the  residence  parts  of  the  city.  The  latter  also 
are  remarkably  diverse  in  the  character  of  their  population, 
and  in  the  style  and  cost  of  the  buildings  in  which  it  is 
housed.  These  distinguishing  features  are  apparent  in 
close  juxtaposition,  and  they  mark  sections  whose  bounda¬ 
ries  are  very  irregular,  and  which  are  in  some  cases  so  in¬ 
terlocked  as  to  make  a  delineation  difficult  without  the  aid 
of  illustration  by  maps,  showing  their  limits.  There  are, 

*Hull;  Building  and  Ornamental  Stones  of  Great  Britain  and  Foreign  Countries, 
London,  1872,  page  1. 


284 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


however,  some  general  characteristics  which  belong  to  cer¬ 
tain  great  districts,  and  afford  a  basis  for  a  division  of  the 
city  in  accordance  with  these  distinguishing  characters. 
The  districts  as  here  given,  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  down-town  business  district,  with  its  great  office 
buildings,  south  of  Chambers  street. 

2.  The  general  business  district,  between  Chambers  and 
Twenty-third  streets,  including  the  east-side  tenements. 

3.  The  older  residential  district,  between  Twenty-third 
and  Fifty-ninth  streets. 

4.  The  newer  or  up-town  residential  district,  with  its  large 
apartment  houses,  between  Fifty-ninth  and  One  Flundred 
and  Tenth  streets. 

5.  The  west-side  heights  and  Harlem,  from  One  Hundred 
and  Tenth  street  to  the  Harlem  river. 

6.  The  less  compactly  built  and  suburban  twenty-third 
and  twenty-fourth  wards  of  the  city,  lying  north  of  the 
Harlem  river. 

In  the  down-town  district,  as  here  given,  that  is,  from  the 
Battery  to  Chambers  street,  a  remarkable  transformation  is 
going  on  in  the  appearance  of  that  part  of  the  city,  and 
large  all-stone  or  stone  and  brick  structures,  eight  to  thir¬ 
teen  stories  in  height,  are  replacing  the  older  brick,  iron, 
and  brick  and  stone-front  buildings. 

The  increased  height  and  more  massive  walls  demand 
more  care  in  the  substructures  and  stones  of  larger  dimen¬ 
sions  than  were  formerly  used.  Granites  are  preferred  for 
the  foundations,  and  are  put  in  the  lower  story  fronts 
also,  with  sandstone  or  limestone  in  the  walls  of  the  upper 
stories.  The  number  of  notable  stone  buildings  in  this  part 
of  the  city  is  larger  than  in  the  other  districts,  excepting 
churches,  which  class  is  best  represented  in  the  up-town  dis¬ 
tricts.  Here,  also,  are  the  various  public  buildings  of  the 
United  States  government  and  the  city  offices.  The  sub¬ 
stantial  character  of  these  newer  constructions  and  the  rapid 
increase  in  their  numbers,  points  to  an  increasing  demand 
for  the  best  building  stone  and  in  blocks  of  large  size.  •  The 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


285 


time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  whole  of  this  part  of  the 
city  will  be  covered  with  these  tall  and  massive  structures, 
devoted  to  business  purposes. 

In  what  may  be  termed  the  general  business  district, 
north  of  Chambers  street,  the  work  of  reconstruction  is 
going  on  more  slowly  than  it  is  down  town. 

The  mercantile  and  factory  buildings,  the  large  hotels 
and  the  church  edifices  west  of  the  Bowery  and  Third  avenue 
are  generally  either  all  stone  or  stone  fronts.  On  the  east 
side,  in  the  poorer  tenement  quarters,  brick,  trimmed  with 
stone,  are  the  prevailing  building  materials.  The  private 
dwelling-houses  remaining  below  Eighth  street,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  city,  are,  in  most  cases,  of  brick  with  stone  trim¬ 
mings,  as  are  many  of  the  stores  on  the  streets  near  the 
river.  Connecticut  brownstone  has  been  used  almost  exclu¬ 
sively  for  fronts  in  all  of  the  cross  streets  above  Eighth 
street,  and  has  given  them  a  monotonous  aspect,  owing  to 
the  long  lines  and  blocks  of  houses  in  the  same  unvarying 
style  of  construction.  Many  of  these  brownstone  fronts 
are  being  replaced  by  large  business  buildings,  either  all 
stone,  or  brick  trimmed  with  stone.  A  notable  change  is 
taking  place  on  Fifth  avenue  between  Fourteenth  and 
Thirty-third  streets,  and  the  brownstone  is  disappearing  be¬ 
fore  the  tide  of  granite,  sandstone  and  limestone  coming  in 
with  the  advance  of  business  up  town.  In  the  cross  streets, 
excepting  Fourteenth  and  Twenty-third  streets,  there  is 
less  change  noticeable.  On  Broadway  there  is  a  mixed 
character  in  the  styles  as  well  as  in  the  nature  of  the 
materials  used  ;  and  there  is  not  probably  in  the  world  a 
street  where  there  is  greater  variety  in  building  material. 
Iron  fronts,  brick,  marble,  granite,  and  all  kinds  of  stone  are 
seen,  sometimes  within  the  compass  of  two  or  three  blocks. 
There  appears  to  be  an  increasing  use  of  stone  in  the  con¬ 
structive  work  on  this  street.  The  avenues  west  of  Fifth 
are  occupied  with  large  apartment-houses  and  stores.  Brown¬ 
stone  fronts  and  brick,  with  brownstone  trimmings,  prevail. 
This  division  of  the  city  is  notable  for  its  many  large  and 


286 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


costly  church  edifices.  On  Fifth,  Madison  and  Park  ave¬ 
nues  they  are  particularly  large,  and  constitute  a  striking 
feature  in  the  street  scenery.  Brownstone  has  been  the 
common  material  in  their  construction. 

The  up-town  streets  near  the  park  contain  many  new 
apartment-houses,  built  of  brick,  trimmed  with  stone.  There 
is,  however,  an  apparent  increase  in  the  use  of  brick  in  their 
construction  over  that  of  stone,  corresponding  to  the  demand 
for  apartment-houses  in  preference  to  the  older  styles  of 
dwelling-houses. 

Above  Fifty-ninth  street  and  west  of  Central  park,  there 
is  an  extraordinarily  large  amount  of  building  in  progress 
and  whole  blocks  of  costly  houses  are  in  course  of  erection. 
The  ground  is  high,  the  situation  between  the  park  and 
the  river  is  good,  and  the  more  eligible  sites  are  held  at  high 
prices.  They  are  being  occupied  by  a  superior  class  of 
dwelling-houses.  The  style  of  fronts  in  these  newer  houses 
is  much  more  varied  than  on  Fifth  avenue  and  the  streets 
below  the  park,  and  there  is  a  much  greater  variety  of  stone 
used.  Instead  of  rows  of  houses  of  the  same  stone,  a  com¬ 
mon  practice  in  this  part  of  the  city  is  the  use  of  eight  or  ten 
kinds  of  stone  in  a  block,  and  so  that  no  two  adjoining  build¬ 
ings  are  of  the  same  stone.  Limestones  thus  alternate  with 
sandstones,  and  these  latter  are  of  various  shades  of  color, 
combining  to  produce  a  pleasing  effect,  and  relieve  the 
monotony  incidental  to  the  use  of  a  single  variety.  For  these 
newer  constructions  Connecticut  brownstone  is  less  employed 
and  there  is  more  of  the  oolitic  limestones  from  Indiana,  the 
red  sandstones  from  Lake  Superior,  Ohio  sandstones,  the 
Longmeadow  sandstones,  and  the  blue  sandstones  from 
western  New  York. 

East  of  the  park  on  the  cross  streets,  there  is  more  brick 
and  relatively  less  stone,  excepting  for  trimmings,  but  on 
the  avenues  more  stone  is  used.  And  there  are  more 
apartment-houses,  which  may  be  said  to  be  true  of  all  of  the 
avenues  up  town. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


287 


Above  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street,  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  building  in  what  is  known  as  Harlem,  and  there  are 
many  noteworthy  public  structures  and  elegant  houses  of 
stone.  There  is  apparently  more  brownstone  used  here 
than  in  the  streets  west  of  the  park. 

The  high  ground  west  of  Harlem,  and  extending  north¬ 
ward  to  the  end  of  the  island,  is  not  being  built  up  so  rap¬ 
idly  as  the  level  east  of  it.  There  are  some  fine  blocks  of  costly 
stone  dwelling-houses,  and  many  in  course  of  construction. 
All  kinds  of  stone  are  used,  but  the  various  sandstones 
and  the  oolitic  limestones  are  most  commonly  seen.  There 
are  still  many  frame  buildings,  and  also  many  of  brick, 
mostly  small  and  inexpensive.  The  gneissic  rocks  of  the 
ledges,  which  are  cut  by  grading  for  streets  or  in  cellar  ex¬ 
cavations,  have  yielded  stone  for  some  of  the  large  public 
institutions  on  this  part  of  the  island. 

The  number  of  buildings  in  the  city,  as  reported  Septem¬ 
ber,  1889,  by  the  superintendent  of  buildings,  Thomas  J. 
Brady,  of  the  bureau  of  inspection  of  buildings,  East  Sixty- 
seventh  street,  is  120,900.  They  are  grouped  in  the 


following  divisions,  viz.  : 

1.  South  of  Chambers  street .  4,817 

2.  Between  Chambers  and  Houston  streets .  18,126 

3.  Between  Hpuston  and  Twenty-third  streets . .  20,385 

4.  Between  Twenty-third  and  Fifty-ninth  streets . . .  28,127 

5.  Between  Fifty-ninth  and  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  streets.  19,767 

6.  From  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street  to  Harlem  river -  14,524 

7.  North  of  the  Harlem  river . . .  14.694 

8.  On  the  islands  in  harbor  and  river .  .  460 

Total . . . 120,900 


According  to  an  enumeration  made  by  the  bureau  of  in¬ 
spection  of  buildings,  of  the  fire  department  of  the  city,  in 
1882,  there  were  in  the  city  102,624  buildings,  of  which 
73,641  were  of  brick,  stone,  iron  and  other  non-inflammable 
material,  and  28,798  of  wood  and  other  inflammable 
material,  exclusively.  The  percentage  of  stone  buildings  in 

13 


288 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


1882,  amounted  to  nTf^,  of  which  89^-5-  per  cent  were  of 
sandstone.*  No  recent  enumeration  has  been  made  of 
the  stone  buildings.  The  proportion  of  stone  and  brick 
structures  is  probably  the  same  as  it  was  in  1882,  as  the 
use  of  brick  has  kept  pace  with  that  of  stone,  so  far  as  the 
number  of  structures  is  concerned. 

New  York  is  truly  cosmopolitan  in  the  worldwide  range 
whence  it  draws  its  supplies  of  building  materials,  and  in 
the  great  variety  which  it  uses.  It  is  a  market  in  which 
all  of  the  quarries  of  our  country,  and  all  of  the  more 
important  quarry  districts  of  the  world  are  represented  by 
their  characteristic  varieties  of  stone.  It  attracts  materials 
from  the  old  and  well-developed  quarries,  and  to  it  the  newly 
opened  localities  send  their  samples  and  solicit  its  custom. 
Its  situation  affords  easy  water  transportation  and  low 
freight  rates,  not  only  from  foreign  ports  but,  also,  from  the 
tide-watur  quarry  districts  of  New  England,  and  many  quar¬ 
ries  in  New  York  and  on  the  great  lakes,  which  are  reached 
by  the  canal  system  of  the  state  and  the  lake  routes.  The 
railway  lines  also  bring  large  amounts  of  stone  from  Ohio,  In¬ 
diana,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  points  in  other  western  and 
southern  states,  at  rates  which  enable  the  quarry  owners  to 
put  their  stone  in  New  York,  at  prices  which  are  as  low  as 
those  of  the  nearer  quarries  of  the  state,  and  of  New  Eng¬ 
land  and  New  Jersey.  The  active  competition  of  dealers 
in  stone,  the  large  amount  called  for  by  the  building  indus¬ 
tries  and  the  many  lines  of  water  and  land  transportation, 
which  converge  in  the  metropolis,  combine  in  bringing  to¬ 
gether  a  greater  variety  of  stone  and  at  lower  rates  of  cost 
than  at  any  other  place  in  the  country.  And  owing  to 
these  favoring  influences  the  consumption  of  stone  in  con¬ 
structive  work  in  New  York  is  relatively  greater  than  in 
the  larger  cities  of  the  state,  and  of  the  adjacent  eastern 
and  middle  states.  Fine  examples  of  the  use  of  stone, 
either  in  ordinary  constructive  or  in  decorative  work,  from 


*Julien  in  Tenth  Census  of  United  States,  Vol.  x,  p. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


289 


quarries  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  city.  Some  of  the  larger  and  more  prominent  structures 
which  can  be  considered  as  representative  of  the  leading 
kinds  of  stone  in  use,  and  of  many  quarry  districts  and  lo¬ 
calities,  are  mentioned  in  a  list  at  the  end  of  these  notes  on 
the  use  of  stone  in  cities. 

The  proportion  in  which  the  chief  varieties  of  stone  enter 
in  the  annual  volume  of  construction  has  varied  notably  in 
consequence  of  changes  in  the  styles  of  architecture, 
through  the  necessities  of  altered  conditions  and  an  edu¬ 
cated  public  sentiment  which  demands  variety  and  a  better 
class  of  material.  As  a  result  the  white  marbles  and  brown- 
stones  no  longer  predominate.  Granites  from  all  parts  of 
New  England  and  New  York,  marbles  from  New  York  and 
Vermont,  red  sandstones  from  Massachusetts,  brownstones 
from  Connecticut  and  N ew  J ersey,  limestones  from  quarries  in 
the  state,  Ohio  sandstone,  the  oolitic  limestones  from  Indiana 
and  Kentucky,  Portage  red  sandstone,  Hudson  river  blue- 
stone,  Potsdam  sandstone,  and  roofing  slate  from  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  Vermont,  and  from  Washington  county,  New  York, 
are  the  stones  most  in  favor  and  most  extensively  used. 

The  recent  introduction  of  many  varieties  of  stone  is  ap¬ 
parent  in  the  newer  and  large  buildings,  especially  in  the 
business  parts  of  the  city.  Wall  street  and  Broadway  below 
Chambers  street,  afford  excellent  opportunities  for  studying 
the  effect  of  the  leading  kinds  of  stone  in  massive  structures 
side  by  side  or  within  the  limits  of  a  few  blocks.  In  Wall 
street,  the  old  Assay  building  and  the  United  States  Sub¬ 
treasury,  of  Westchester  county  marble;  the  United  States 
Custom-house,  of  Quincy  granite ;  the  Drexel  building,  of 
white  marble  from  Vermont;  and  the  older  brownstone  build¬ 
ings  near  William  and  Fulton  streets,  are  offset  by  the 
polished  granite  of  the  Merchants  and  Manhattan  National 
bank  building;  the  United  States  Trust  Company’s  ornate 
front  of  Milford  granite  and  Massachusetts  red  sandstone  ; 
the  granite  and  limestone  in  the  front  of  the  Mechanics 
37 


290 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


bank,  and  the  Bank  of  America ;  the  Scotch  sandstone  in 
the  Gallatin  National  bank,  and  the  Manhattan  Trust 
Company’s  buildings ;  and  the  massive,  rock-face  blocks  of 
Longmeadow  sandstone  in  the  United  bank  building  on  the 
corner  of  Broadway. 

On  the  lower  part  of  Broadway  there  are  many  new  and 
striking  architectual  constructions  in  stone,  sandwiched  in 
with  the  older,  white  marble  and  brownstone  fronts.  The 
Equitable  Assurance  Company’s  building,  the  Standard  Oil 
Company’s  building,  the  Welles  building,  the  Union  Trust 
Company’s  building  are  among  the  newer  examples  of 
Maine  granites.  The  United  bank  building,  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  sandstone ;  the  Consolidated  Stock  Exchange 
building,  of  Scotch  sandstone;  Aldrich  court,  of  Portage 
and  Oxford  sandstone ;  the  New  York  Post-office,  the 
Field  building  with  its  massive  trimmings  of  sandstone  from 
Little  Falls,  New  Jersey;  and  the  Guernsey  building,  of 
Medina  sandstone  from  Albion,  Orleans  county,  represent 
the  sandstones  now  more  in  favor,  and  in  newer  style  of 
construction.  The  Astor  house,  of  Quincy  granite;  old  St. 
Paul’s  church,  of  gneiss  and  sandstone;  Trinity  church,  of 
sandstone  from  Little  Falls,  New  Jersey;  the  city  hall,  the 
National  Park  bank,  National  Shoe  and  Leather  bank  build¬ 
ing,  of  white  marble;  the  Merchants’  Exchange  National 
bank  building,  of  Dorchester  sandstone;  and  the  Broadway 
bank  building,  of  Connecticut  brownstone,  are  examples  in 
construction  of  styles  and  materials  of  the  past  rather  than 
the  present. 

Granite 

Granites  are  used  extensively  in  New  York  city  in  the 
foundations  and  substructures  of  the  more  massive  business 
buildings,  and  for  fronts  for  the  principal  and  first  stories, 
with  Indiana  limestone,  sandstones,  or  brick  in  the  upper 
stories.  The  Tribune  building,  the  New  York  Times  build¬ 
ing,  and  several  of  the  new  bank  buildings  on  Wall  street, 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


29I 


and  the  “  Judge”  building  in  Fifth  avenue,  are  some  exam¬ 
ples  of  such  combinations  of  granite  with  other  stone  or 
brick.  The  United  States  government  and  the  city  public 
buildings  are  nearly  all  of  dressed  granite.  The  piers, 
towers  and  approaches  of  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn 
bridge,  of  High  bridge,  and  of  the  Washington  bridge  over 
the  Harlem,  and  bridge  work  generally,  are  of  granite, 
largely  from  Maine  quarries.  For  decorative  work  the 
Nova  Scotia  and  the  Red  Beach,  Maine,  granites  are  used 
to  some  extent.  For  interior  ornamentation  the  gray  Aber¬ 
deen  and  the  red  Peterhead  (Scotch)  granites  have  been  in 
favor.  Of  the  state  quarries  the  “  International  Scotch 
granite,”  a  red  variety  from  Grindstone  island,  Jefferson 
county,  and  the  gray  Au  Sable  granite,  from  Essex  county, 
are  being  introduced,  the  first  as  an  ornamental  stone,  the 
latter  for  general  construction.  The  lighter-colored  va¬ 
rieties  are  now  preferred  for  fronts  to  the  dark-colored,  as 
the  latter  become  dingy-looking  with  age.  A  favorite  com¬ 
bination  is  the  light-gray,  porphyritic  granite  of  Milford, 
Massachusetts,  with  the  red  sandstones  from  East  Long- 
meadow,  in  the  same  state. 

Granite  has  not  been  exposed  to  the  weathering  effects 
of  the  atmosphere  in  any  of  the  buildings  of  the  city  long 
enough  to  yield  any  data  as  to  its  probable  limit  of  endur¬ 
ance.  The  oldest  granite  structures  are  not  yet  seventy 
years  old,  and  the  stone  in  them  shows  scarcely  any  signs 
of  disintegration,  and  none  affecting  seriously  its  strength. 


Gneiss 

The  gneiss  rock  outcrops  on  the  island  and  in  West¬ 
chester  county,  furnish  a  large  quantity  of  common  building 
stone.  The  stone  is  obtained  mainly  in  street  grading  and 
in  excavating  for  foundations.  It  is  used  for  rubblework 
in  inner  walls,  for  filling  in  behind  ashlar  work  and  for 
foundations  of  buildings.  For  retaining  walls  and  heavy 


292 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


masonry,  also,  it  is  employed  to  some  extent.  As  the  city 
advances  and  covers  the  outcrops,  the  localities  of  supply 
decrease  in  number  and  less  of  it  is  used.  The  more 
massive  constructions  of  recent  years  have  necessitated  the 
use  of  stone  in  blocks  of  large  dimensions,  and  more  of 
granite  and  limestone  and  less  of  this  stone.  Many  of  the 
older  church  edifices  were  built  of  gneiss.  Among  the 
more  prominent  examples,  which  may  here  be  referred  to, 
are :  .  the  side  walls  of  St.  Paul’s  church,  Broadway ;  St 
John’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  Varick  street  (built  in 
1803-7)  I  St.  Matthew’s  Lutheran  church,  Broome,  corner 
of  Elizabeth  street;  New  York  Juvenile  Asylum,  West 
One  Hundred  and  Seventy-eighth  street  and  the  Forty- 
second  street  Croton  reservoir.  Owing  to  the  laminated 
structure  of  the  more  micaceous  gneiss,  it  is  liable  to  dis¬ 
integration  along  the  lines  of  mica  and  to  flake  or  scale  off, 
when  set  on  edge.  And  such  decay  is  noticeable  in  the 
stone  of  these  older  buildings.  The  necessity  of  repairs  in 
the  case  of  the  more  inferior  kinds  of  gneiss  makes  it  unde¬ 
sirable  as  a  building  stone,  except  where  it  is  protected  from 
the  action  of  atmospheric  agencies. 

Marbles 

The  use  of  marbles  in  the  construction  of  exterior  walls 
was  formerly  much  larger  than  at  present.  The  opening  of 
the  Tuckahoe  and  other  quarries  in  Westchester  county,  so 
near  the  city,  and  the  erection  of  several  notable  white 
marble  buildings  in  the  earlier  decades  of  this  century, 
brought  this  stone  into  notice  and  favor.  White  marble 
fronts  were  in  fashion,  mainly  for  business  buildings,  and 
Broadway  was  noted  for  the  number  of  these  “  marble 
palaces.”  Many  residences  were  built  with  marble  facings. 
The  introduction  of  sandstones  of  various  kinds,  of  lime¬ 
stones  and  granites,  has  caused  a  decline  in  the  demand  for 
marble,  particularly  for  exterior  construction,  and  compar- 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


293 


atively  few  of  the  newer  buildings  are  of  marble.  As  can 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  tabular  statement,  appended 
to  these  notes  on  cities,  there  are  many  fine  architectural 
illustrations  of  white  marble  in  New  York.  The  quarries 
of  Westchester  county  have  furnished  most  of  the  marble 
used  here.  Lesser  amounts  have  come  from  Massachusetts, 
Vermont  and  Maryland.  One  of  the  oldest  marble  build¬ 
ings  in  the  city  is  the  present  United  States  assay  office, 
built  in  1823,  of  white  marble  from  Tuckahoe.  Its  surface 
is  somewhat  yellow,  but  the  arris  edges  remain  sharp, 
whereas  the  Italian  marble  in  the  caps  of  the  Doric  columns 
of  the  front  is  much  weathered  and  worn.  The  Stewart 
building  on  Broadway  is  another  of  the  older  examples  of 
Tuckahoe  marble  which  is  well  preserved.  The  houses  of 
the  cardinal  and  archbishop  on  Madison  avenue,  in  the  rear 
of  St.  Patrick’s  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  and  the  hotel  on 
Broadway,  corner  of  Thirty-second  street,  are  among  the 
newer  buildings  in  which  the  Tuckahoe  marble  has  been 
put.  The  city  hall  is  of  white  marble  (excepting  the  rear 
wall)  from  West  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts.  It  was  much 
discolored  and  weathered  before  it  was  cleaned,  recently. 
The  United  States  sub-treasury  building,  also  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  marble,  shows  a  weathering  out  of  crystals  of  tre- 
molite  and  ugly  fissures  which  disfigure  the  stone.  In  the 
comparatively  new  county  court-house,  the  south  walls  of 
the  wings,  of  Sheffield  marble,  are  already  discolored  and 
dirty-looking.  The  Corinthian  columns  of  the  front,  of 
Tuckahoe  marble,  still  appear  fresh  and  sharp-angled.  The 
United  States  hotel,  corner  of  Fulton  and  Pearl  streets 
shows  much  decomposed  and  wasted  surface.  It  was  built 
in  1823,  of  Westchester  county  marble.  Grace  church, 
Broadway  and  Tenth  street,  built  forty-five  years  ago,  of  the 
same  ,  stone,  has  become  bluish-gray  in  color  and  the  sur¬ 
faces  of  the  block  are  much  roughened  by  the  weathering. 
Vermont  marbles  are  noted  in  the  Collegiate  Reformed 
church,  Fifth  avenue,  corner  of  Twenty-ninth  street,  and  in 


294 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


the  Drexel  and  Morgan  building,  Wall  street.  A  coarse- 
crystalline  marble,  known  as  “  snowflake  marble,”  from 
Pleasantville,  in  Westchester  county,  is  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  walls  of  the  St.  Patrick  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  on 
Fifth  avenue,  with  Lee  marble  above  and  Cockeysville, 
Maryland,  marble  in  the  towers.  The  several  kinds  appear 
quite  sharply  defined  in  their  differences  due  to  exposure 
in  weathering. 

These  references  give  proof  of  the  wide  variation  in  the 
enduring  properties  of  the  marbles  which  have  been  in  gen¬ 
eral  use  in  the  city.  Some  of  the  Westchester  marbles  ap¬ 
pear  to  be  as  durable  as  the  best  sandstones.  That  there  is 
a  gradual  decomposition  and  wear  of  the  surface  is  evident 
in  the  loss  of  polish  on  the  best  marbles,  when  exposed  for 
many  years  to  the  corrosive  action  of  the  atmosphere  of 
the  city.  An  objection  to  some  of  the  marbles  in  the 
market  is  their  granular  structure,  in  which  the  grains 
fall  out  on  weathering,  and  the  ruin  of  the  stone  is  only 
a  question  of  a  comparatively  short  period  of  time. 
Marble  is  apparently  again  coming  into  favor  in  New  York, 
in  combination  with  light-colored  brick.  The  pleasing 
effect  of  these  materials  commends  it  to  the  attention  of 
architects  and  builders. 

For  the  ornamentation  of  interiors,  for  wainscoting,  til¬ 
ing,  etc.,  the  black  marbles  from  Glens  Falls;  the  white  and 
varigated  marbles  from  Vermont;  Tennessee  marbles; 
Mexican  onyx;  and  various  colored  marbles  from  France, 
Belgium,  Spain,  Italy  and  Algeria  are  in  common  use. 


Sandstone 

The  variation  in  color,  texture  and  other  physical  proper¬ 
ties  among  the  sandstones,  is  nearly  as  wide  as  their  range 
of  occurrence,  and  they  are  well  represented  in  New  York. 
Commercial  conditions  have  had  much  influence,  however, 
in  determining  the  great  use  of  some  kinds,  and  to  the  ex- 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


295 


elusion  of  others  of  equal,  or  even  superior,  quality.  The 
tide  of  fashion  in  building,  also,  has  been  a  powerful  factor 
in  creating  a  demand  for  certain  kinds  of  sandstone.  Archi¬ 
tectural  considerations  and  inherent  valuable  properties  ap¬ 
pear  to  have  been  ignored  in  the  case  of  sandstones  of 
many  localities  and  quarry  districts. 

Of  all  the  sandstones  used  in  New  York,  the  Connecticut 
brownstone  has  had  the  longest  and  most  extensive  use. 
The  decades  1840  to  i860  witnessed  the  culmination  of  the 
brownstone  period.  It  is  so  common  and  well  known,  that 
examples  need  not  be  here  particularly  mentioned,  save  to 
illustrate  some  general  statements  as  to  its  use  and  value. 
It  has  been  employed  very  extensively  in  trimmings  with 
red  brick,  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  most  largely  in  thin 
blocks,  set  on  edge,  as  a  front  facing  —  as  it  were,  a  veneer 
of  stone  —  and  more  recently,  to  a  lesser  extent,  in  rock-face 
blocks,  in  course  work,  and  for  fronts.  And  it  is  this  prac¬ 
tice  of  setting  it  on  edge  which  has  in  so  many  cases  occa¬ 
sioned  its  rapid  scaling,  and  brought  it  into  disrepute  with 
many  builders  and  architects.  No  other  stone  has  suffered 
so  much  in  the  hands  of  its  friends.  A  similar  treatment 
of  many  of  our  granites,  marbles  and  other  sandstones 
would  have  developed  their  inherent  weakness  and  justified 
like  criticism.1  In  spite  of  defects,  due  to  a  laminated  struc¬ 
ture,  in  some  cases  to  a  loosely  aggregated  texture,  and  al¬ 
most  universally  faulty  position,  this  sandstone  finds  a  good 
demand,  and  its  use  is  not  actually  decreasing,  although, 
relatively,  its  sales  in  the  city  are  said  to  be  less  than  for¬ 
merly.  Its  rich  brown  color  is  well  suited  to  cities,  inasmuch 
as  it  cannot  grow  dingy-looking  nor  is  it  discolored,  as  the 
white  marbles,  the  gray  granites,  and  the  Dorchester  and 
Ohio  sandstones.  It  is  not  so  glaring  to  the  eye  as  the 
latter,  nor  so  dull  and  hot  as  red  brick.  When  sawed,  the 
structural  figures  sometimes  are  so  developed  as  to  look  like 
faint  tracery  on  the  surface,  and  add  to  its  beauty.  These 
even  surfaces  always  keep  clean-looking  as  they  have  no 

14 


296  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

lodging  slopes  whereon  dust  and  dirt  can  accumulate,  as  in 
the  case  of  rock-face  blocks.  For  the  fronts  of  dwelling- 
houses,  which  are  destined  to  change  or  reconstruction  be¬ 
fore  the  tide  of  business,  and  whose  average  life  rarely  equals 
that  of  its  owner  or  occupant,  brownstone,  even  on  edge, 
has  its  advantages  and  serves  its  day  and  purpose.  When 
selected  with  care,  and  placed  on  its  bedding  planes,  it  is  a 
durable  and  beautiful  building  material.  The  Vanderbilt 
houses,  on  Fifth  avenue,  between  Fifty-first  and  Fifty- 
second  streets,  the  Stuart  house,  at  the  corner  of  Sixty- 
eighth  street,  and  others  on  the  same  avenue,  above  Forty- 
second  street,  and  many  on  Madison  and  Park  avenues,  and 
West  Fifty-seventh  street,  show  Connecticut  brownstone  to 
its  best  advantage.  On  the  other  hand  no  other  variety  of 
stone  used  in  the  city  appears  in  so  many  buildings  to  be  in 
such  a  state  of  disintegration  and  hastening  to  ultimate 
ruin.  The  rear  wall  of  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  build¬ 
ing,  in  City  Hall  park,  although  dating  back  to  1852,  only, 
is  a  sad  example  of  exfoliation  on  a  large  scale.  In  the 
older  cross  streets,  below  Fourteenth,  the  brownstone  sills, 
caps  and  stoops  of  the  older  private  houses  are,  generally, 
much  disintegrated  and  out  of  repair.  On  the  lower  part  of 
Fifth  avenue,  examples  are  numerous  where  the  fine-tooled 
blocks  are  scaling  badly.  The  balustrades,  rails  and  posts 
are  particularly  in  bad  condition,  owing  to  the  splitting  of 
the  stone  which,  in  these  cases,  is  set  vertically.  The  Brick 
Presbyterian  church,  at  the  corner  of  Thirty-seventh  street, 
has  lost  the  greater  part  of  the  original  surface  of  its  stone 
pilasters  by  flaking.  On  West  Twenty-third  and  West 
Thirty-fourth  streets,  between  Sixth  and  Eighth  avenues, 
the  decay  of  the  brownstone  is  seen  in  many  houses  and  in 
several  church  fronts. 

In  some  of  the  newer  buildings,  up-town  and  beyond  the 
park,  brownstone,  in  rock-face  blocks,  and  set  on  bedding 
plane,  is  seen.  A  tendency  in  this  direction  is  eminently 
to  be  desired.  The  greater  durability,  when  employed  in 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


297 

this  way,  will  doubtless  serve  to  regain  favor  with  all  inter¬ 
ested  in  good  buildings. 

It  should  be  said  in  this  connection,  that  the  Connecti¬ 
cut  quarries  produce  a  great  variety.  Some  of  these  sand¬ 
stones  have  a  laminated  structure,  which  tends  more  rapidly 
to  exfoliate  than  the  more  homogeneous  kinds,  and  particu¬ 
larly  when  set  on  edge  in  building  fronts;  some  of  it  is 
shaly  in  places  and  is  more  liable  to  disintegration  and  de¬ 
cay,  and  does  not  exhibit  so  much  flaking  off,  but  crumbles 
to  pieces  upon  long  exposure.  Much  of  the  Connecticut 
brownstone,  which  has  been  used  in  the  city,  is  of  this  in¬ 
ferior  kind  and  low-priced.  Some  of  the  newer  and  cheap 
contract-built  apartment-houses  in  the  up-town  streets,  are 
illustrations  of  the  more  laminated  varieties  which  are 
already  beginning  to  show  signs  of  exfoliation.  The 
difference  between  the  well-selected  and  the  more  inferior 
kinds  can  be  seen  in  the  stone  of  some  of  the  older  buildings 
of  the  city. 

Brown  sandstone  from  the  New  Jersey  quarries  is  well 
represented  in  the  city,  and  notably  in  several  of  the  more 
ornate  church  edifices  and  private  houses.  The  New  Jersey 
sandstone  is  more  of  a  reddish-brown  and  less  sombre  color 
than  that  of  Connecticut,  finer  grained  and  less  micaceous. 
It  is  not  generally  so  laminated  in  structure,  and  approxi¬ 
mates  more  closely  to  a  “  freestone.”  Trinity  church  (1846) 
is  a  fine  architectural  example  of  the  stone  from  Little  Falls. 
The  decay  in  some  of  the  stones  of  the  exterior  walls  neces¬ 
sitated  a  careful  examination  and  redressing  a  few  years 
ago.* 

The  Newark  sandstone  is  represented  in  the  Temple 

*  Dr.  Thomas  Egleston,  of  the  Columbia  College  School  of  Mines,  made  an  exhaus  - 
tive  investigation  of  the  causes  of  the  decay  of  the  stone  in  this  building  in  1880,  and 
found  that  there  were  four  leading  varieties  of  stone  used  in  it,  and  that  the  stone  was 
not  all  well  selected.  He  says:  “  By  a  careful  selection  of  stones  with  siliceous  bind¬ 
ing  materials  and  the  rejection  of  all  others,  material  might  have  been  selected  that 
would  have  lasted  indefinitely.” — Cause  and  Prevention  of  the  Decay  of  Building 
Stone,  read  before  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  June  24,  1885,  Vol.  xv, 
Transactions. 


38 


298 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Emanu  El,  Fifth  avenue,  a  costly  Saracenic  piece  of 
architecture ;  in  the  chaste  and  elegant  gothic  pile  of  the 
Collegiate  Reformed  church,  Fifth  avenue  and  Forty-eighth 
street,  and  in  several  other  large  church  buildings.  The 
stone  in  the  tower  of  the  Forty-eighth  street  church  is  dark- 
colored  through  the  accumulation  of  soot  and  dust.  The 
stone  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian,  also  from  the  New¬ 
ark  quarries,  shows  the  presence  of  some  argillaceous  seams 
and  small  pockets,  which  have  begun  to  crumble  and  have 
required  repairs. 

The  most  popular  of  the  New  Jersey  sandstone  (free¬ 
stone)  come  from  the  Belleville  quarries.  And  some  of  the 
dealers  report  the  demand  for  the  finer  grade  of  “  liver-rock  ” 
of  these  quarries  as  steadily  in  excess  of  the  supply.  The 
more  noteworthy  buildings  in  which  Belleville  stone  has 
been  used  are  mentioned  in  the  list  at  the  end  of  this  sec- 

1 

tion.  The  stone  is  generally  dressed  with  fine-tooled  or 
pointed  surfaces,  but  in  some  of  the  newer  constructions 
rock-face  blocks  are  used  and  in  regular  courses  and  with 
the  dressed  stone  for  trimming.  Several  ornate  church 
buildings  on  Madison  avenue  show  the  Belleville  stone  effect¬ 
ively,  and  to  its  advantage,  as  compared  with  other  brown 
sandstones,  which  have  been  so  largely  employed,  especially 
in  the  construction  of  churches  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 

For  domestic  architecture  these  New  Jersey  sandstones 
have  not  been  employed  to  the  extent  comparable  to  that  of 
the  Connecticut  brownstone,  and  their  principal  use  has 
been  in  the  construction  of  public  buildings,  and  not  for 
facings  and  fronts.  Quarry  conditions  and  transportation 
rates  have  combined  to  limit  their  use  in  New  York. 

The  Massachusetts  red  and  brown  sandstones,  quarried 
near  Springfield,  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  known  in 
the  market  as  East  Fongmeadow  sandstone,  although  intro¬ 
duced  recently,  have  become  favorites  with  architects  and 
builders,  and  have  found  a  large  demand.  On  account  of 
their  uniformity  in  color  and  the  ease  with  which  they  are 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


299 


dressed,  they  are  adapted  to  carved  work,  and  the  pleasing 
contrast  of  the  tooled  surfaces  with  the  red  or  brown  rock- 
face,  suggests  this  combination,  particularly  in  massive  walls 
and  fronts.  For  trimmings  with  gray  and  reddish-gray 
granites,  as  the  Milford,  Massachusetts,  granite,  these  sand¬ 
stones  have  been  used  extensively.  The  softness  of  some 
of  these  Longmeadow  stones  makes  their  working  less  ex- 
pensive,  and  thus,  indirectly,  creates  a  demand  for  them 
where  harder  and  more  durable  stone,  whose  working  is  at¬ 
tended  with  more  labor  and  cost,  cannot  compete.  Refer¬ 
ence  has  been  made  on  pages  289-290,  to  some  of  the  large 
office  buildings,  down-town,  in  which  the  Longmeadow 
stone  can  be  seen,  and  other  structures  are  in  the  list  fur¬ 
ther  on  in  this  section.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  city  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Lenox  avenue  and  One  Hun¬ 
dred  and  Twenty-second  street,  is  a  fine  architectural 
example  of  the  sandstone  and  granite  ;  the  Park  Presby¬ 
terian  church,  at  the  corner  of  Eleventh  avenue  and  Eighty- 
sixth  street,  has  it,  with  the  Lake  Superior  red  sandstone  in 
the  trimmings.  For  private  houses,  also,  the  Longmeadow 
sandstones  have  come  into  favor,  and  they  appear  to  be 
taking  the  place  of  Connecticut  brownstone,  here,  as  well 
as  in  the  construction  of  the  more  massive  business  and 
public  buildings. 

The  Longmeadow  sandstones  also  belong,  geologically, 
to  the  formations  of  the  Triassic  age,  as  do  the  Connecticut 
and  the  New  Jersey  brown  sandstones,  which  have  been 
noticed  above. 

Sandstones  for  building,  from  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 
Scotia,  have  been  imported  largely,  but  the  importations 
have  fallen  off  greatly,  and  the  so-called  “Nova  Scotia 
stone”  has  ceased  to  be  a  leading  variety  in  this  market. 
They  are  from  the  carboniferous  formations  and  are  generally 
light-colored.  Their  large  use  has  given  us  numerous 
buildings  in  all  parts  of  the  city  wherein  they  can  be  seen. 
That  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  Second  avenue 


300 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


and  Eleventh  street,  is  a  good  example  of  the  Dorchester 
freestone,  which  shows  little  sign  of  decay,  after  nearly 
forty  years’  exposure  ;  the  American  Exchange  National 
Bank  building,  Broadway,  corner  of  Cedar  street ;  the  Re¬ 
formed  church,  on  Madison  avenue  and  Fifty-seventh  street, 
and  the  “  Dakota,”  on  West  Fifty-seventh  street,  are  other 
examples. 

The  bridges  and  the  fence  walls  of  Central  park,  and 
much  of  the  stone  masonry  in  the  park,  are  constructed  of 
freestone  from  Dorchester  and  Albert,  in  New  Brunswick. 
There  are  many  house-fronts  up-town  which  have  these 
sandstones  either  as  trimmings  with  red  brick,  or  as  ashlar 
with  the  same  stone  facings.  Generally  they  are  olive- 
colored  and  fine-grained  and  soft  enough  to  be  worked 
readily.  Hence,  they  have  been  used  in  nearly  all  cases  in 
the  form  of  dressed  dimension  blocks,  and  rarely  with  rock- 
face  surfaces.  They  are  not  “  reedy ,”  that  is,  they  are  not 
laminated,  and  are  worked  equally  well  in  all  directions  and 
are  true  “freestones.”  In  consequence  of  this  structural  na¬ 
ture,  flaking  is  not  common.  Their  softness,  as  compared 
with  Connecticut  brownstone,  causes  a  more  rapid  disinte¬ 
gration  and  decay  on  weathering,  and  such  decay  is  notice¬ 
able,  particularly  on  the  southern  and  south-western  expos¬ 
ures,  and  less  on  north-facing  walls.  The  fence  posts  in  front 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  on  the  corner  of  Fourth 
avenue  and  East  Forty-second  street,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Heavenly  Rest,  near  Forty-fifth  street,  show  this  disintegra¬ 
tion,  and  roughened,  south-west  surfaces.  Some  of  the 
fronts  on  the  upper  part  of  Fifth  avenue,  and  some  on  Madison 
avenue,  above  Thirty-fourth  street,  show  like  effects.  Per¬ 
haps  the  most  pronounced  case  of  decay  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
carved  work  of  the  terrace  wall  and  stairways,  at  the  north 
end  of  the  Mall  and  bordering  the  lake.  The  fluted  posts 
and  ornamental  caps  have  had  to  be  covered  during  the 
winter,  for  their  protection.  The  stone  is  so  much  weathered 
here  that  it  is  possible  to  abrade  the  surface  by  the  hand. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


301 


Some  of  these  “  Nova  Scotia”  sandstones  contain  small 
nodules  of  pyrites,  which  on  oxidation  produce  stains. 
Examples  are  to  be  seen  in  East  Forty-second  street.  Dis¬ 
coloration  also  is  seen  in  some  cases. 

Ohio  Sandstone. —  Under  this  head  are  here  included  the 
light-buff  and  bluish-gray,  fine-grained  sandstones,  which  are 
quarried  in  the  Waverly  group  of  the  sub-carboniferous* 
formation,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  state.  The  va¬ 
rieties  known  in  the  New  York  market  are  the  Berea,  the 
Amherst  and  the  Euclid  sandstones.  The  Berea  sandstone 
is  usually  of  a  darker  shade  of  color  and  less  “reedy”  than 
the  Amherst,  and  is  preferred  by  builders  here.  The  build¬ 
ing  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  church  of  Harlem,  Lenox 
avenue  and  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  street,  is  one  of 
the  best  specimens  of  the  Berea  grit. 

The  “  Euclid  bluestone  ”  is  seen  in  the  new  houses  of 
West  Seventy-second  street  and  west  of  the  Boulevard.  It 
has  been  used  to  some  extent  in  the  fronts  of  the  west  side, 
up-town  blocks  of  houses,  in  juxtaposition,  with  other  sand¬ 
stones  and  oolitic  limestones.  The  building  on  the  corner 
of  Barclay  and  Broadway,  erected  in  1857  is  an  example  of 
the  Amherst  stone. 

Dr.  Alexis  A.  Julien  says  of  this  stone  in  his  chapter  on 
“The  durability  of  building  stone  in  New  York  city  and 
vicinity.”  f  “  Its  rich  content  of  quartz,  said  to  reach  ninety- 
seven  per  cent,  in  the  buff  stone  from  Amherst,  renders  this 
one  of  the  most  promising,  in  regard  to  durability  of  all  the 
freestones  of  the  sandstone  class  yet  introduced  here.  Build¬ 
ings  constructed  of  this  material  in  this  city  since  1857,  *  * 
*  show  no  decay,  but  only  discoloration.  In  other  in¬ 
stances  (e.  g.,  rows  of  houses  on  Fiftieth  street  west  of 
Fifth  avenue,  on  Madison  avenue  between  Thirty-fourth  and 
Forty-third  streets,  etc.)  the  blackened  discoloration  and 
frequent  chippings  of  edges  of  the  soft  stone  are  quite 
offensive.” 


*  Report  on  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio,  Vol.  v,  p.  578. 
f  Tenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  x,  p.  369. 


302 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Among  the  sandstones  which  find  a  market  in  New  York 
and  from  other  states  are  the  brown  sandstone  from  Hum- 
melstown,  Pennsylvania,  the  Lake  Superior  or  Portage  red 
sandstone,  and  the  red  sandstone  from  Fort  Collins,  Colo¬ 
rado.  The  Fulton  National  bank  building,  on  Fulton  street, 
is  a  fine  example  of  the  Hummelstown  stone.  It  is  of  a  dark- 
brown  color,  fine-grained,  hard  and  apparently  durable. 
The  new  houses  on  West  Sixtieth  street,  between  Broadway 
and  Ninth  avenue  show  it  in  the  fronts  of  dwellings. 

The  Portage  red  sandstone  from  the  Kewenaw  peninsula, 
Lake  Superior,  Michigan,  is  coming  forward  rapidly  as  a 
favorite  building  stone.  Its  deep  rich  color,  its  homogeneous 
structure,  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  cut  and  dressed,  and 
the  large  size  of  blocks  obtainable,  commend  it.  The  pres¬ 
ence  of  gray  spots  and  the  seamy  nature  of  the  inferior 
stone  is  against  it,  when  not  selected  with  care.  An  exam¬ 
ple  is  the  Manhattan  Savings  bank  building,  Broadway  and 
Bleecker  street.  Although  the  carriage  is  by  rail,  the  low 
rates  allow  of  its  sale  in  New  York  at  prices  which  make  it 
a  keen  competitor  with  other  sandstones  in  this  market, 
and  give  promise  of  an  extensive  use. 

Scotch  Sandstones. — The  sandstones,  which  are  imported 
largely  as  ballast,  from  Scotland,  are  from  the  New  Red 
sandstone  formation;  and  from  Corsehill,  near  Annan,  Dum¬ 
friesshire  ;  from  Gatelaw  bridge,  in  the  same  county  ;  and 
from  the  Carboniferous  formation  at  Ballochmile,  in  Forfar¬ 
shire.  They  are  sometimes  known  as  Carlisle  sandstone, 
from  Carlisle,  the  shipping  port.  The  Corsehill  stone  is 
usually  of  a  bright-red  color,  almost  pink  in  some  cases, 
even-grained  and  homogeneous  in  structure.  It  is  seen  in 
the  Consolidated  Stock  Exchange  building,  Broadway,  cor¬ 
ner  of  Exchange  place ;  in  the  Gallatin  National  bank, 
Wall  street;  in  the  World  building,  Park  Row;  and  in  the 
Murray  Hill  hotel.  The  warm  color  of  the  fine-tooled 
surfaces  produces  a  pleasant  effect,  but  its  durability  in  our 
climate  remains  to  be  proven  by  longer  exposure  than  it  has 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


303 


had  in  these  newer  structures.  The  Gatelaw  bridge  quar¬ 
ries,  north  of  Corsehill,  yield  a  sandstone  which  is  brownish- 
red  in  color,  coarser-grained  and  more  siliceous,  and  appar¬ 
ently  more  durable  than  the  latter  stone.  Both  districts 
are  represented  in  the  Presbyterian  hospital  buildings,  on 
East  Seventieth  street.  The  Gatelaw  bridge  stone  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  bank  building  on  the  corner  of  Forty-second 
street,  at  Fifth  avenue  ;  also,  in  St.  George’s  church,  East 
Sixteenth  street. 

Although  sandstones  have  been  so  largely  employed  in 
all  kinds  of  building,  in  New  York,  yet  the  greater  part  has 
come  from  quarries  and  quarry  districts  outside  of  the  state. 
The  latter  have  found  better  markets  in  the  smaller  cities 
near  them  than  in  the  metropolis.  Sandstones  from  distant 
parts  of  the  country,  and  from  other  states,  have  been  car¬ 
ried  through  the  quarry  belts  of  western  and  central  New 
York,  and  have,  to  some  extent,  excluded  the  productions 
of  our  state.  The  commercial  relations  and  varied  tastes 
of  the  people,  as  well  as  the  tide  of  fashion  in  stone,  have 
produced  this  effect.  It  is  not  due  to  the  superior  charac¬ 
ter  and  value  of  foreign  and  extra-limital  sandstone.  In 
consequence  of  this  relatively  small  demand  for  state  sand¬ 
stones,  there  are  few  prominent  buildings  to  which  refer¬ 
ence  can  be  made.  The  Potsdam  sandstone  is  in  the  new 
Columbia  college  buildings  ;  the  Albion  sandstone  appears 
in  the  “  Guernsey,”  Nos.  160-164  Broadway,  and  in  the 
house,  north-west  corner  of  Madison  avenue  and  Sixty- 
eighth  street ;  Medina  sandstone  (gray  variety)  in  the  Cal¬ 
vary  Baptist  church,  West  Fifty-seventh  street;  Portage 
and  Oxford  sandstones  in  Aldrich  court,  No.  45  Broadway; 
Warsaw  blue  sandstone  in  the  building  Sixth  avenue  and 
West  Thirty-fourth  street;  and  Hudson  river  blue-stone  in 
the  Tiffany  house,  Madison  avenue  and  Seventy-second 
street.  All  of  these  references  are  to  comparatively  new 
buildings,  and  they  do  not  afford  any  positive  evidence  of 
the  enduring  value  of  these  sandstones  in  New  York. 

G 


304 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


The  red  sandstone  from  Haverstraw  was  used  formerly 
in  the  city.  It  has  disappeared  from  the  market. 

A  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  easy  introduction,  and  the  * 
more  general  employment  of  the  harder  sandstones,  as  the 
Potsdam  and  Oxford  blue  sandstone,  is  the  greater  expense 
of  dressing  them.  The  softer  Warsaw  and  Portage  stones 
have  found  a  more  ready  market  for  facings,  mainly. 

The  Hudson  river  blue-stone,  included  here  under  sand¬ 
stones,  from  the  Hudson  and  Delaware  valleys,  is  an  excep¬ 
tion  to  the  general  statements  about  New  York  sandstones 
above ;  and  its  use  in  constructive  work  continues  large, 
although  the  greater  volume  of  that  stone  is  laid  in  street 
sidewalks  and  curbing.  For  lintels,  sills,  caps,  water-tables, 
platforms  and  steps  the  blue-stone  has  no  superior,  for  tensile 
strength  and  durability,  and  there  is  a  steady  demand  for  it. 

Limestone 

Limestones  from  New  York  state  quarries  have  been  em¬ 
ployed  for  heavy  masonry,  as,  for  example,  in  the  anchor¬ 
ages  and  approaches  of  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  bridge, 
where  the  blue  limestones  of  Lake  Champlain  and  some  of 
the  Rondout  quarries  were  used.  The  Sandy  Hill  quarries 
furnished  stone  for  the  Croton  aqueduct  gate-house,  and 
the  sea  wall  on  Governors  Island,  These  limestones  an¬ 
swer  well  for  such  construction.  The  massive  Lenox  li¬ 
brary  building,  Fifth  avenue  and  Seventieth  street,  is  of 
Lockport  gray  limestone.  Of  a  light-gray  color,  it  looks 
when  hammer-dressed,  like  a  granite,  but  on  close  inspection 
the  exterior  appears  to  be  worn  and  pitted  by  the  falling  out 
of  the  fossiliferous  portions,  and  the  tool-marks  are  already 
nearly  effaced  by  the  wear  of  the  surface.  These  signs  of 
wear  are  more  apparent  on  the  south  than  on  the  north  fronts. 
This  decay  of  a  beautiful  stone,  when  protected  from  the 
weather,  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  placing  it  on  edge. 

The  oolitic  limestones  of  Indiana  and  Kentucky,  intro- 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


305 


duced  within  a  decade  of  years,  have  already  acquired  a 
wide  use  for  buildings  of  all  kinds.  And  they  are  to  be 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  They  are  known  under  vari¬ 
ous  names,  from  the  quarry  localities,  but  in  general  all  of 
the  varieties  are  included  under  the  head  of  Indiana  lime¬ 
stones.  The  Bedford  quarries,  in  Lawrence  county,  have 
a  buff-colored  stone  at  the  surface,  underlain  by  a  blue  va¬ 
riety,  which  is  harder,  more  durable  in  general,  and  of  a 
superior  quality.  The  variety  is  specified  in  building  con¬ 
tracts  in  the  city.  The  stone  is  of  a  pleasing  shade  of 
color,  fine-grained,  even  in  texture  and  easily  carved.  It 
can  be  seen  in  the  New  York  Times  building,  Park  Row, 
and  in  the  elegant  and  ornate  house  of  William  K.  Vander¬ 
bilt,  Fifth  avenue  and  Fifty-second  street ;  also,  as  a  trim¬ 
ming  with  red  brick,  in  Cornelius  Vanderbilt’s  house,  at 
Fifty-seventh  street  and  Fifth  avenue,  and  in  Cyrus  Clark’s 
house,  corner  of  West  Ninetieth  street  and  Riverside  ave¬ 
nue.  The  fine-tooled  and  carved  work  of  the  house  at 
Fifty-second  street  and  Fifth  avenue  shows  how  well  it  re¬ 
ceives  ornamentation,  but  the  discolored  stone  of  parts  of 
the  front  which  are  less  exposed,  detract  from  its  beauty. 

The  new  building  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Wall  and 
Nassau  streets  already  looks  muddy,  and  the  spalls,  from 
the  edges  of  the  course-work,  indicate  weakness.  Some  of 

the  discoloration  of  the  Indiana  limestones  has  been  attrib- 

* 

uted  to  the  exudation  of  oil.* 

The  stone  from  the  quarries  of  Elletsville,  Monroe  county, 
is  noted  in  the  front  of  Smith  building,  Cortlandt  street. 
It  is  not  so  markedly  oolitic  as  the  Bedford  stone.  In  the 
New  York  Cotton  Exchange,  on  Beaver  street,  the  front  is 
disfigured  by  the  stains  or  discolorations  in  the  stone.  It  is 
reported  to  be  an  inferior  quality  of  Indiana  stone. 

The  .  newer  blocks  of  houses  up-town,  above  Seventy- 
second  street,  contain  many  costly  examples  of  the  Indiana 
limestone.  West  Seventy-second,  Eighty-first  and  Ninety- 

*Dr.  Alexis  A.  Julien,  U.  S.  Tenth  Census,  Vol.  x,  p.  369. 

39 

V 


306  bulletin  of  THE  NEW  YORK  state  museum 

first  streets,  West  End  avenue,  St.  Nicholas  avenue,  Convent 
avenue  and  Lenox  avenue  have  many  such  buildings. 

The  large  size  of  the  blocks  which  these  quarries  yield ; 
the  ho.mogeneous  texture  and  composition  ;  the  softness  of 
the  stone  and  its  fitness  for  carved  work ;  and  low  freight 
rates,  making  prices  competitive  with  eastern  stones,  have 
all  tended  to  a  greatly  increased  use  of  the  Indiana  oolitic 
limestones.  Their  durability  in  New  York  remains  to  be 
proven  by  longer  periods  of  exposure  to  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere  than  they  have  as  yet  had. 

Caen  stone,  a  light-colored,  soft,  oolitic  limestone, 
from  Normandy,  France,  has  been  used  in  New  York  city 
for  interior  decorative  work,  and  in  exterior  walls.  In 
Trinity  chapel,  Dr.  Egleston  reports,  that  “the  stone  is  a 
little  clouded  with  dirt,  but  otherwise  is  apparently  as  sound 
as  the  day  it  was  erected.”*  Where  put  in  outside  walls  it 
has  failed  to  resist  decomposition  and  decay,  and  has  very 
generally  been  replaced  by  other  stone.  An  example  of  the 
active  disintegration  of  this  stone  may  be  seen  in  the  trim¬ 
mings  of  All  Souls’  Unitarian  church  and  parsonage,  corner 
of  Fourth  avenue  and  East  Twentieth  street.  The  water- 
tables  particularly  are  in  bad  condition. 


Slate 

Slate  is  so  rarely  seen  in  the  composition  of  exteriors  in 
New  York  city,  excepting  for  roofing,  that  it  is  hardly  ad¬ 
missible  in  the  list  of  building  stone.  For  interiors,  as 
wainscoting,  floors,  tiling,  etc.,  it  is  used  . largely.  Sawed 
slate  lintels,  sills  and  steps  have  been  put  in  some  private 
houses  and  other  smaller  structures,  but  a  comparatively 
small  amount  of  stone  has  been  used  in  this  way.  For 
pitch-roofs  slate  has  been  in  fashion  for  many  years  and 
has  proved  to  be  a  superior  roofing  material.  It  is  put  on 
the  larger,  business  and  public  buildings  generally  ;  very 


*The  Cause  and  Prevention  of  Decay  of  the  Building  Stone,  p.  28. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


307 


little  is  laid  on  private  dwelling-houses  in  the  more  com¬ 
pactly-built  districts  of  the  city.  The  blue-black  slates  of  the 
Bangor  and  Slatington  regions  of  Northampton  and  Lehigh 
counties  in  Pennsylvania;  the  green  and  the  variegated  red 
and  green,  and  the  purple  slates  of  Vermont;  and,  the  red, 
green  and  purple  slates  of  Washington  county,  are  the 
leading  varieties  in  this  market.  The  red  slate  of  Wash¬ 
ington  county  is  much  esteemed,  commanding  high  prices, 
and  is  employed  in  the  more  costly  buildings,  as  a  more  or¬ 
namental  roofing  material.  All  of  the  red  slate  in  the  city 
is  from  these  slate  quarries  of  the  state.  A  little  of  the  black 
slate  comes  from  Maine  and  some  from  Maryland,  and  the 
Peach  Bottom  slate  district  of  Pennsylvania. 

Street  Pavements 

Sidewalks —  The  older  stone  sidewalks  of  the  city  are  laid 
with  gneiss  or  mica  slate.  Much  of  the  former  was  probably 
from  Haddam,  and  the  latter  from  Bolton,  Connecticut.* 
Few  such  walks  are  now  to  be  seen. 

The  Hudson  river  blue-stone  is  the  leading  variety  in  use, 
both  for  curbing  and  for  paving  the  walks.  It  is  brought 
from  the  quarries  of  Ulster,  Sullivan,  Orange  and  Delaware 
counties,  and  from  the  blue-stone  territory  of  Pennsylvania, 
near  the  Delaware  river,  and  adjacent  to  New  York.  In 
the  older  walks  the  flag-stones  are  small  and  thin  and  with 
natural  faces  derived  by  splitting.  The  demand  for  better 
work  and  stone  to  resist  more  and  heavier  wear  has  called 
for  much  thicker  flag-stones  and  of  larger  size,  and  true 
surfaces,  such  as  are  given  by  planing.  In  many  cases  the 
length  of  the  stone  is  equal  to  the  width  of  the  walk  so  that 
it  consists  of  a  single  line  of  large  dimension  flags.  Exam¬ 
ples  of  such  stone  are  to  be  seen  in  front  of  the  Vanderbilt 
houses  on  Fifth  avenue  ;  on  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  in 
Wall  street,  in  front  of  the  large  office  buildings,  and  gener¬ 
ally  before  larger  and  newer  structures. 


*  Dr.  Alexis  A.  Julien,  Tenth  Census  of  United  States,  Vol.  x,  p.  327. 


3°8 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


There  is  an  increasing  use  of  large,  hewn  blocks  of  granite 
for  the  sidewalks  and  for  cross-walks.  They  are  strong  and 
hence  are  not  so  liable  to  be  broken  by  heavy  traffic,  but  the 
projecting  points  of  the  surface  are  soon  worn  quite  smooth 
and  slippery,  when  wet,  and  the  little  inequalities  are  apt  to 
hold  water  and  stay  wet  longer  than  the  blue-stone,  whose 
uniform  wear  results  in  an  even  surface  which  retains  a 
gritty  texture  and  is  not  slippery.* 

In  the  more  recently  paved  streets  up-town,  there  is  a 
noticeable  use  of  artificial  stone,  especially  in  front  of  private 
houses.  For  curbing,  granite  and  blue-stone  are  used  al¬ 
most  exclusively. 

Pavements. —  The  roadways  of  the  streets  are  paved  with 
cobble  stones,  stone  blocks,  macadam  and  asphalt.  Cobbles 
and  small  boulders,  obtained  from  the  drift  formations,  were 
formerly  in  use  almost  exclusively.  In  many  of  the  older- 
paved  streets,  partic^Jarly  on  the  east  side  and  down  town, 
trap-rock  is  seen.  Granite  block  is  taking  the  place  of  both 
the  Belgian  block  and  specification  trap  pavement.  The 
Russ  pavement  has  all  been  taken  up.  The  following  sta¬ 
tistics  show  the  areas  and  lengths  of  the  several  kinds  of 
pavement  for  the  date  June  30,  1890^ 


KIND  OF  PAVEMENT. 

Square  Yards. 

Lineal  Feet. 

Miles. 

Specification  granite . 

2,225,810.75 

529,107.73 

100.21 

Block  granite . 

673,402. 

136 ,7!7- 

25.89 

Specification  trap . . . 

1,248,528.82 

355,821.90 

67-39 

Belgian  block . 

.3,045,214.04 

695,290.60 

131.68 

Cobble . 

101,642.76 

27,174.60 

5-i3 

Asphalt . 

71,  I9Q.43 

17,692. 

3-36 

Wood . 

516. 

158, 

•03 

Russ . . 

2,964. 

621. 

.12 

Macadam . . 

908,354. 

133,748.90 

25-34 

8,277,622.80 

1,896,331.63 

359-15 

*  All  stones  like  the  granites,  which  are  capable  of  receiving  a  polish,  are  inferior 
to  the  sandstones  for  sidewalks  ;  wear  polishes  the  former. 

f  From  F.  C.  Fox,  superintendent  of  streets,  department  of  public  works. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


309 


Examples  of  Stone  Construction  in  New  York  City 


Locality 

Blue  Hill,  Hancock 
county. 

Spruce  Head,  near 

Granite  —  Maine 

Structure  Date 

U.  S.  Barge  office,  Battery . 

Part  of  towers,  New  York&  Brooklyn  bridge; 

Rockland.  bridges  of  4th  avenue  improvement . 

Red  Beach,  Washing-  Columns  in  front  of  World  building,  Park  Row. 
ton  county. 


Hurricane  Island. 

Part  of  towers,  New  York  &  Brooklyn  bridge; 
part  of  New  York  post-office . 

Fox  Island. 

Part  of  towers,  New  York  &  Brooklyn  bridge; 
basement  of  Stock  Exchange  ;  Merchants 
and  Manhattan  National  Banking  Co.,  Wall 
st.,  mullions  of  windows  (first  story  of  Conn, 
granite);  Methodist  Book  Concern  building; 

5th  ave.,  cor.  20th  st . 

Deer  Island. 

Vinal  Haven,  in 
Penobscot  bay. 

St.  George. 

Augusta . 

N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  grain  elevators . 

Part  of  Washington  bridge,  Harlem  river. . . . 

Pedestal  Lafayette  monument,  Union  square. 

Mills  building,  cor.  Broad  st.  and  Exchange 
place . . 

Biddeford.  Docks  along  North  river . 

Hallowed,  Kennebec  Tribune  building,  in  part ;  Ludlow  street  jail  ;  1840 

county.  “Tombs,”  in  Center  street;  Standard  Oil 


Round  Pond 

Frankfort, 

Waldo  county. 

Jonesboro. 

Co.’s  building,  No.  26  Broadway ;  Union 

Trust  Co.’s  building,  No.  69  Broadway . 

Seventh  regiment  armory . 

Parapets  of  Washington  bridge,  Harlem  river. 

Hunnewell  building;  front  of  Welles  building, 
cor.  of  Broadway  and  Beaver  st . 

Mt.  Desert  Island. 

Dix  Island,  Knox 
county. 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art;  Fort  Schuyler.. 

New  York  post-office  ;  first  base  course  of  St. 
Patrick’s  cathedral;  Court-house,  City  Hall 
park ;  part  of  the  Staats-Zeitung  building 
(first  story) ;  fortifications  in  harbor;  marine 
docks  at  Castle  Garden  ;  and  retaining- 
walls  of  barge-office  and  basin. . 

Maine  granite  (in 
general). 

Times  building  (first  and  second  stories)  Park 

Row;  house,  north-east  cor.  5th  ave.  and 

66th  st.  (rock-face  ashlar  with  polished  fac¬ 
ings)  ;  house, cor.  5th  ave.  and  78th  st.  (alter¬ 
nating  courses  of  polished  and  rock-face 
blocks) . 

3io 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Locality 

Concord. 

New  Hampshire 

Structure  Date 

Booth’s  theatre,  6th  ave.  cor.  23d  st. ;  Ger¬ 
mania  Savings  Bank,  south-east  cor.  14th 
st.  and  4th  ave.  (basement  of  Quincy  gran¬ 
ite);  part  of  towers  and  approaches  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  bridge;  basement  and  trim¬ 
mings  of  three  stories  of  Tribune  building; 
Equitable  Assurance  Co.  building,  Broadway. 

Ouincy. 

Massachusetts 

Astor  house  ;  U.  S.  Custom-house  ;  Staats- 
Zeitung  building  (in  part);  Germania  Sav¬ 
ings  Bank,  cor.  14th  st.  and  4th  ave.  (base¬ 
ment)  . .  . 

World  building,  Park  Row  (basement) . 

Cape  Ann. 

The  dark  base  stone  and  spandrel-stones  of 
the  towers  and  approaches  of  the  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  bridge .  . 

Milford. 

No.  7 1  Wall  st.;  U.  S.  Trust  Co.,  No  45  Wall 
st.  ;  Lutheran  church,  cor.  Madison  ave.  and 

73d  st.  ;  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Lenox 
ave.  and  i22d  st . . . 

Westerly. 

% 

Rhode  Island 

New  York  Mutual  L.  Ins.  Co.  building,  Nas¬ 
sau,  cor.  Cedar  st.  (first  story);  upper  stories 
of  Merchants  &  Manhattan  National  Bank¬ 
ing  Co.,  Wall  st. ;  Red  granite,  Demarest 
building,  north-east  cor.  5th  ave.  and  33d  st. 

• 

Connecticut 

Leetes  Island,  Washington  bridge  (in  part),  Harlem  river. .  . 

New  Haven  county. 

Niantic,  New  Lon-  Reservoir  in  Central  park . 

don  county. 

Stony  Creek,  Bran-  Central  R.  R.  Co.  of  New  Jersey  office  build- 
ford,  New  Haven  ing,  Liberty  st . 


county. 

Connecticut  granite 
(general). 

Judge  building,  5th  ave.  cor.  of  16th  st. ;  St. 
Andrew’s  P.  E.  church,  cor.  5th  ave.  and 

127th  st . 

New  York. 

Rarnapo,  Washington  bridge,  in  part  Harlem  river 

Rockland  count)'. 

Breakneck  mountain  Part  of  High  bridge,  Harlem  river . 

quarry,  near  Cold 
Spring,  Putnam  co. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


Locality 
St.  George’s. 


Manhattan  island  and 
Westchester  co. 


Manchester. 


Sutherland  Falls. 
Winooski. 


Lee 


West  Stockbridge. 
Sheffield. 


31 1 


New  Brunswick 

Structnre  Date 

American  Museum  of  Nat.  History  extension, 

8th  ave.  and  77th  st. ;  columns  of  the  Stock 
Exchange  building,  Broad  st . . . 


Gneiss 

New  York 

Side  walls  of  St.  Paul’s  church,  Broadway  and  1764-6 
Fulton  st. ;  St.  Matthew’s  Lutheran  church,  1841 
Broome,  cor.  of  Elizabeth  sts. ;  Asbury  M.  E. 
church,  Washington  square;  church,  cor. 

Madison  ave.  and  38th  st. ;  St.  Paul’s  Evan¬ 
gelical  church,  W.  34th  st.  near  7th  avenue  ; 

Croton  reservoir,  42d  st.  and  5th  ave.; 

Church  of  the  Paulist  Fathers,  9th  ave.  and 
59th  st.  (facings  of  Connecticut  granite); 
American  Express  Co.’s  building,  Madison 
ave.  cor.  47th  st.;  AH  Souls’ P.  E.  church, 

Madison  ave.  cor.  of  E.  66th  st.  (with  brown- 
stone  trimmings);  house,  Riverside  ave.  cor. 
of  W.  104th  st. ;  Croton  reservoir,  Central 
park;  N.  Y.  Juvenile  Asylum,  W.  178th  st. 
near  10th  ave.;  St.  John’s  College  buildings, 
Fordham  (with  Tremont  marble  trimmings). 


Marble 

Vermont 

Drexel  &  Morgan  building,  cor.  of  Wall  and 
Broad  sts.;  Collegiate  Reformed  church,  5  th 
ave.  cor.  of  29th  st . .  '1854 

Sutherland  building,  S.  E.  cor.  63d  st.  and 
Madison  ave . 

Reredos,  Grace  church,  Broadway,  cor.  xoth 
st.;  National  Shoe  and  Leather  bank,  Broad¬ 
way,  cor.  Chambers  st . 

r 

Massachusetts 

St.  Patrick’s  cathedral,  5th  ave.  and  50th  st., 
upper  part  of  building  (towers  of  Cockeys-  1858-79 
ville,  Md.,  marble) . . . . 

City  hall ;  U.  S.  Treasury  building,  Wall  st.  . . 

South  walls  of  wings  of  County  court-house, 

City  Hall  park . . 


16 


312 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Locality 

Tremont. 

Tuckahoe. 


Pleasantville, 

Westchester 

county. 

Hastings,  Westches¬ 
ter  county. 

Westchester  county. 
(In  general.) 


Mary’s  Point, 
Albert. 

Dorchester. 


New  York 

Structure 

St.  John’s  College,  Fordham  (trimmings) . 

St.  Patrick’s  cathedral;  National  Bank  of 
Commerce  building,  Nassau  st. ;  Stock  Ex¬ 
change  building,  Broad  st.;  U.  S.  Assay  of¬ 
fice,  Wall  st.;  Brown  Bros,  building,  Wall  st. ; 
Stewart  building,  Broadway,  Chambers  and 
Reade  sts.;  part  of  County  court-house 
(Corinthian  columns);  Stewart  house,  5th 
ave.  cor.  of  34th  st.;  Hotel  Imperial,  Broad¬ 
way,  cor.  of  32d  st. ;  block,  east  side  of  5th 
ave.,  57th— 58th  sts . 

St.  Patrick’s  cathedral,  to  top  of  tracery  of 
windows;  Union  Dime  Savings  bank,  32d  st. 
and  6th  ave.;  Orient  Mutual  building,  Nos. 
41-43  Wall  st . 

University  building  on  Washington  square. . . 

U.  S.  Hotel,  Fulton  and  Pearl  sts.;  M.  E. 
church,  4th  ave.  and  21st  st.;  National 
Academy  of  Design,  23d  st.  cor.  4th  ave.; 
Fifth  Avenue  hotel,  5th  ave.  and  23d  st., 
N.  Y.  Herald  building,  Broadway,  cor.  Ann 
st.;  National  Park  Bank  building,  Broad¬ 
way,  cor.  of  Fulton  st.;  Grace  church, 
Broadway  and  10th  st.;  Grand  Opera  House, 
N.  W.  cor.  8th  ave.  and  23d  st . 


Serpentine 

Trimmings  of  Beth  El  Synagogue,  S.  E.  cor. 
Lexington  ave,  and  63d  st.;  trimmings  of 
St.  Bartholomew’s  P.  E.  church,  Madison 
ave.  cor.  E.  44th  st . 


Sandstone 

1 

New  Brunswick 

Reformed  church,  57th  st.  and  Madison  ave.; 
fence  surrounding  Central  pzfrk  ;  bridges 
and  most  of  freestone  masonry  in  the  park. 

N.  Y.  Historical  Society  building,  2d  ave.  and 
nth  st.;  part  of  wall  and  bridges  in  Central 
park;  Continental  National  bank,  Nassau 
st.  opp.  U.  S.  Treasury;  Temple  court,  cor. 
of  Nassau  and  Beekman  sts.;  Coal  and  Iron 
Exchange,  Cortlandt  st.;  Merchants’  Ex¬ 
change  Bank  building,  Broadway  ;  Berkeley 
house,  5th  ave.  cor.  9th  st.;  Victoria  hotel, 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


313 


Locality 


East  Longmeadow. 


Portland. 


Little  Falls. 
Newark. 

Belleville. 


Structure  Date 

5th  ave.  cor.  27th  st. ;  Astor  houses,  5th  ave. 

N.  W.  cor.  33d  st.;  house  S.  E.  cor.  5th  ave. 
and  73d  st.;  house,  Madison  ave.,  east  side, 
cor.  40th  st.;  Church  of  Heavenly  Rest,  Madi¬ 
son  ave.  and  42d  st.;  part  of  the  “Dakota,” 

W.  72d  st . 

Nova  Scotia 

American  Exchange  Bank  building,  Broadway, 
cor.  Cedar  st.;  Hotel  Bristol,  cor.  5th  ave. 
and  42d  st . 

Massachusetts 

United  Bank  building,  Broadway,  cor.  Wall  st.; 

U.  S.  Trust  Co.  building,  No.  45  Wall  st. 
(trimmings);  Chatham  National  bank  build¬ 
ing,  N.  E.  cor.  Broadwayand  John  st.;  Union 
League  Club  house,  5th  ave.  cor.  39th  st.; 
the  “  Osborne,”  57th  st.  and  7th  ave.;  church, 

S.  W.  cor.  Madison  ave.  and  73d  st. ;  trim¬ 
mings  of  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Lenox 
ave.  and  I22d  st. ;  St.  George’s  P.  E.  church 
parish  building,  E.  16th  st.;  Park  Pres,  church, 

10th  ave.  cor  86th  st.  (rock-face  ashlar,  with 
trimmings  of  red  Portage,  L.  S,  sandstone). 

New  York  Acad,  of  Med.,  west  43d  st . 

Connecticut 

Commercial  National  Bank  building,  N.  E.  cor. 

Wall  and  Pearl  sts. ;  Insurance  building,  S. 

W.  cor.  Wall  and  William  sts.;  Court  of  Gen-  1852 
eral  Sessions  building,  Chambers  st.;  Broad¬ 
way  Bank  building,  Broadway,  cor.  Park 
place;  Vanderbilt  houses,  5th  ave.  5ist-52d 
sts.;  house,-  N.  E.  cor.  5th  ave.  and  67th  st. ; 

Mrs.  R.  L.  Stuart’s  house,  N.  E.  cor.  5th  ave. 
and  68th  st.;  houses,  Madison  ave.,  east  side, 
37th~38th  sts.;  houses,  Park  ave.  cor.  36th 
st.;  houses,  8th  ave.  bet.  84th  and  85th  sts. . 

New  Jersey 

Trinity  church,  Broadway,  1846;  Mt.  Morris 
Bank  building,  4th  ave.  cor.  124th  st . 

Collegiate  Reformed  church,  5th  ave.  cor.  48th  1872 
st. ;  St.  Thomas’  church,  5th  ave.  cor.  53d  st.; 

Fifth  Avenue  Presb)Terian  church,  cor.  55th 
st. ;  Reformed  P.  E.  church,  Madison  ave. 
cor.  55th  st. ;  Trinity  chapel,  W.  25th  st.; 

Temple  Emanu-El,  5th  ave.  and  43d  st . 

Trinity  church  parish  building,  New  Church 
st.;  Mills  building,  cor.  Broad  st.  and  Ex¬ 
change  place;  “Tower  building”  No.  50 


40 


3i4 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Locality 


Hummelstown. 


Amherst. 

Berea. 


Euclid. 


Portage, 

Michigan. 


Potomac. 


Fort  Collins. 


Corsehill  near 
Annan,  Dumfries. 


Structure 

Broadway;  Schermerhorn  building;  Field 
building,  Broadway;  house,  5th  ave.  and 93d 
st.;  house,  Madison  ave.  and  28th  st.;  Villard 
house,  Madison  ave.  cor.  50th  st.;  Manhattan 
Athletic  Assoc,  building.  Madison  ave.,  44th- 
45th  sts.;  Madison  ave.  M.  E.  church,  Madi¬ 
son  ave.  and  60th  st.;  Baptist  Church  of 
Epiphany.  Madison  ave.  cor.  64th  st.;  Church 
of  the  Messiah,  cor.  Park  ave.  and  34th  st. ; 
house,  N.  E.  cor.  West  End  ave.  and  75th  st. 
(trimmings) ;  Cancer  hospital,  8th  ave.  bet. 
106th  and  107th  sts . 

Pennsylvania 

Fulton  National  Bank  building,  Fulton  st.  cor. 
Gold  st.;  Pottier,  Stymus  &  Co.’s  building, 
5th  ave.  bet.  41st  and  42d  sts.;  houses,  W. 
60th  st.  bet.  Broadway  and  9th  ave . 

Ohio 

Building  cor.  Broadway  and  Barclay  st . 

Building,  cor.  Fulton  and  Cliff  sts.;  Collegiate 
Reformed  church,  Lenox  ave.  and  123d  st.; 
Calvary  Baptist  church,  W.  57th  st.  (trim¬ 
mings);  chapel,  7th  ave.  and  128th  st . 

Houses,  W.  72d  st.  west  of  Boulevard . 

Lake  Superior 

Trimmings  of  upper  stories  of  the  Armory 
building,  cor.  Whitehall  and  Pearl  sts.;  Man¬ 
hattan  Savings  Bank  building,  Broadway,  N. 
E.  cor.  Bleecker  st. ;  trimmings  of  Park 
Pres,  church,  10th  ave.  and  86th  st . 

Virginia 

Red  sandstone.  House,  west  57th  st.,  near 
and  west  of  6th  av. 

Colorado 

House,  E.  71st  st.  near  5th  ave . 


Scotland 

Consolidated  Stock  Exchange  building,  Broad¬ 
way  and  Exchange  place  ;  Gallatin  National 
Bank  building;  building,  Nos.  8-12  Wall  st. ; 
Manhattan  Trust  Co.  building,  Wall  st.  near 
Broadway;  Northern  Assurance  Co.  build¬ 
ing,  cor.  Pine  and  William  sts.;  Astor  build¬ 
ing,  Nos.  7-9  Pine  st.;  World  building,  Park 
row;  Telephone  Exchange  building,  Cort- 
landt  st.;  Murray  Hill  hotel,  Park  ave.  and 
41st  st.  (basement  of  granite) . 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


315 


Locality 

Gatelaw  bridge, 
Dumfriesshire. 


Ballochmile,  Forfar¬ 
shire. 


Potsdam, 

St.  Lawrence 
county. 

Albion,  Orleans  co. 
Medina,  Orleans  co. 


Warsaw, 

Wyoming  county. 


Portage, 

Livingston  county. 
Oxford, 

Chenango  county. 

Hudson  River 
blue-stone. 

Haver  straw  (?) 


Kingston,  Ulster  co. 

Sandy  Hill, Wash¬ 
ing  county. 

Willsborough, 

Essex  county. 

Lockport, 

Niagara  county. 


Structure  Date 

Bank  building,  S.  E.  cor.  5th  ave.  and  4.26.  st. ; 
houses,  west  side  Madison  ave.  above  38th 
st.  (trimmings  with  red  brick);  St.  George’s 
P.  E.  church,  16th  st.  cor.  Stuyvesant  sq.; 

Bliss  block,  6th  ave.  and  1 1 8th  st.;  houses, 

73d  st.  near  West  End  ave.;  houses,  124th 
st.  bet.  6th  and  7th  aves . 

Houses  in  W.  78th  st.;  house,  57th  st.  and  7th 
ave . 


New  York 

Columbia  college  buildings  (basement,  string¬ 
courses,  facings);  Rutgers  Riverside  Pres, 
church,  W.  73d  st.  (with  facings  of  Connec¬ 
ticut  brown-stone) .  . 

Guernsey  building,  Nos.  160-164  Broadway; 
house  north-west  cor.  Madison  ave.  &  68th  st. 

Calvary  Baptist  church  (gray  Medina  sand- 
stond  in  ashlar  work,  trimmings  of  Berea 
sandstone),  W.  57th  st.  near  6th  ave . 

Public  school  building  (trimmings),  St.  Nich¬ 
olas  ave.  and  1 56th  st. ;  part  of  building  north¬ 
east  cor.  6th  ave.  and  34th  st.;  houses  (trim¬ 
mings),  West  End  ave,  bet.  89th  and  90th  sts. 

Aldrich  court,  45  Broadway  (trimmings);  porch 
of  house,  5th  ave.  and  77th  st . 

Aldrich  court,  No.  45  Broadway  (walls  only); 
basement  of  house,  south-east  cor.  of  Boule¬ 
vard  and  W.  90th  sts . . 

Tiffany  houses,  Madison  ave.  cor.  72d  st. ;  part 
of  building  north-east  cor.  6th  ave.  &  34th  st. 

Prot.  Epis.  Church  of  the  Ascension,  5th  ave. 
cor.  10th  st.;  St.  Stephen’s  R.  C.  church, 
28th  st.;  house  of  Mrs.  Cruger,  14th  st.; 
house  of  D.  Willis  James,  Park  ave.  and  E. 
39th  st . . 


Limestone 

New  York 

Part  of  anchorages,  approaches  and  base  of 
towers  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  bridge. . 

Croton  aqueduct,  gate-house;  walls  of  Harlem 
railroad  improvement;  sea-wall  on  Gover¬ 
nor’s  Island . . . 

Piers  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  bridge . 


Lenox  Library,  5th  ave.  between  70th  and  71st  1870-7 
sts.;  part  of  Pres.  Hospital  (facings),  Madi¬ 
son  ave.  and  70th  st . 


3l6 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Locality 

Bedford,  Lawrence 

countv. 

* 


Ellettsville,  Monroe 
county. 


Stinesville,  Monroe 
county. 


Bowling  Green. 


(In  general.) 


Ballinasloe,  county 
Galway. 

Caen,  Normandy. 


Indiana 

Structure  Date 

Building  S.  W.  cor.  Wall  and  Nassau  sts. ;  N. 

Y.  Times  building,  Park  row  (above  2d 
floor);  Wm.  K.  Vanderbilt’s  house,  5th  ave. 
cor.  52d  st.;  house  of  Cornelius  Vanderbilt, 

N.  W.  cor.  5th  ave.  and  57th  st.  (with  red 
brick  walls);  Appleby  building,  W.  58th  st. ; 
building,  N.  W.  cor.  5th  ave.  and  14th  st., 

Union  Square  ;  house,  S.  E.  cor.  Boulevard 
and  90th  st . 

Smith’s  building,  Cortlandt  st.;  Public  School 
building  (trimmings),  Lenox  ave.  and  134th 
st.  (first  story  of  Portage  sandstone);  house, 

N.  W.  cor  5th  ave.  and  115th  st . . . 

Hotel,  cor.  Madison  ave.  and  30th  st.;  apart¬ 
ment  house,  8th  ave.  bet.  74th  and  75th  sts.; 

N.  Y.  Mutual  Life  Insurance  building,  Nas¬ 
sau  and  Cedar  sts.  (granite  in  first  story). .  . . 

Kentucky 

N.  Y.  Cotton  Exchange  building,  Beaver  st. 
cor.  Bowling  Green ;  houses,  north  side  of 
W.  72d  st.,  west  of  West  End  ave.  ;  Bloom- 
ingdale  Reformed  church,  cor.  Broadway 
and  68th  st . 


Indiana 

Farmers’  Loan  and  Trust  Co. s’  building,  cor. 
Beaver  and  William  sts.;  Bank  of  America 
(1st  and  2d  stories  of  granite)  Wall  st. ;  Me¬ 
chanics’  bank  (above  2d  story),  Wall  st.; 
Demarest  building,  N.  E.  cor.  of  5th  ave.  and 
33d  st.;  St.  Andrew’s  M.  E.  church,  cor,  76th 
st.  and  Columbus  ave.;  Harlem  Opera 
house,  125th  st.;  house,  S.  E.  cor.  of  Lenox 
ave.  and  1 1 8th  st. ;  apartment  house,  S.  W. 
cor.  Lexington  ave.  and  34th  st. ;  house,  N. 
E.  cor.  Convent  ave.  and  144th  st.  ;  house, 
W.  150th  st.,  ,N.  E.  cor.  of  St.  Nicholas  ave.; 
St.  Francis  Xavier  college  building,  W.  16th 
st. ;  Central  Park  apartment  houses,  7th  ave. 
and  59th  st.;  All  Angels’  P.  E.  church,  West 
End  ave.,  cor.  81st  st . 

Ireland 

Kelly  building,  Temple  court,  Nassau  st . 

France 

Interior  of  Trinity  chapel,  W.  25th  st.;  reredos, 
Trinity  church;  All  Souls’  Unit,  church,  S. 
E.  cor.  4th  ave.  and  E.  20th  st . 


« 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


317 


Brooklyn 

The  use  of  stone  in  building  in  Brooklyn  is  relatively 
less  than  in  the  metropolis.  The  same  general  statements, 
descriptive  of  the  use  of  building  stone  in  New  York,  with 
some  slight  modifications,  are  applicable  to  the  city  of  Brook¬ 
lyn,  which  is  practically  a  part  of  the  great  metropolis. 

There  are  relatively  fewer  large  mercantile  structures  and 
public  buildings,  and  more  dwelling-houses,  and  a  notable 
absence  of  the  large  apartment-houses,  so  common  in  New 
York.  The  number  of  dwellings  in  proportion  to  the  popu¬ 
lation  is  greater,  but  in  average  size  and  cost  they  are 
inferior,  and  to  that  extent  more  generally  of  brick,  and 
stone  fronts  are  not  as  numerous  and  common  as  in  the 
metropolis. 

The  Connecticut  brownstone  predominates  in  the  fronts 
of  stores  and  dwelling-houses,  and  in  the  older  construc¬ 
tions.  As  in  New  York  city,  so  here,  there  is  an  increasing 
use  of  other  stone,  and  especially  of  the  oolitic  limestones 
of  Indiana  and  Kentucky. 

Among  the  more  important  edifices  in  which  stone  has 
been  used  extensively,  the  following  are  given  as  examples 
of  the  several  varieties.  The  list  is  incomplete,  and  is  pre¬ 
sented  as  an  appendix  to  the  more  full  one  of  New  York,  and 
as  a  part  of  the  metropolitan  district.  The  United  States 
Government  building  and  Post-office  are  of  granite  — 
Maine.  Quincy  granite  is  noted  in  the  memorial  arch  Pros¬ 
pect  Park  plaza.  The  city  hall,  Kings  county  court-house  and 
the  municipal  building  are  of  white  marble.  The  city  hall  is 
older  and  the  Westchester  county  marble  in  it  has  weathered 
to  a  light-gray  color.  The  newer  fronts  of  the  other  buildings 
appear  still  fresh  and  white.  Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  Clinton  and  Montague  streets,  is  a  beautiful  Gothic 
structure  in  red  sandstone,  from  the  quarries  at  Middletown, 
Connecticut.  The  blocks  are  fine-pointed  ashlar  work,  in 
places  disfigured  by  calcareous  deposits  from  the  mortar  of 


3  1 8  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

the  joints.  St.  Ann’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  Clinton 
and  Livingston  streets,  is  of  red  sandstone,  from  New 
Jersey  quarries,  with  trimmings  of  Ohio  sandstone.  In  the 
Academy  of  Music,  on  Montague  street,  the  Dorchester 
sandstone  was  used  freely  in  trimming,  with  red  brick  walls. 
The  Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  north-east  corner  of  Remsen 
and  Henry  streets  is  built  of  gneiss,  of  which  many  of  the 
stones  are  on  edge,  and  in  broken  courses,  and  show  some 
signs  of  disintegration.  The  Dime  Savings  bank  front,  on 
Court  street,  is  a  fine  example  of  the  oolitic  limestone 
from  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  The  trimmings  are 
of  polished  granite.  The  hall  of  records,  Fulton  street 
and  Boerum  place,  and  the  new  First  Reformed  church, 
Seventh  avenue  and  Carroll  place,  are  also  of  the 
oolitic  stone  from  Indiana  quarries.  The  Williamsburg 
Savings  bank  is  a  massive  building,  with  Berea  sandstone 
front.  The  Massachusetts  sandstone  is  noted  in  the  fronts 
of  the  large  “  Berkeley  ”  and  “  Grosvenor  ”  apartment- 
houses,  in  Montague  street.  In  the  “  Arlington,”  also  in 
Montague  street,  a  light  gray  sandstone  was  used  in  the 
first  story  of  the  front. 

Scotch  sandstone,  from  the  Gatelaw  bridge  quarries,  was 
used  in  the  houses  of  Stewart  L.  Woodford,  President 
street,  and  Herman  Behr,  Henry  and  Pierrepont  streets, 
and  in  the  Germania  club-house. 

Street  Work. — For  paving  cobble  stone  has  been  used 

most  largely.  Trap-rock  also,  has  had  an  extensive  use. 

Granite  blocks  are  now  in  favor  and  are  displacing  the  older 

cobbles  and  Belgian  blocks.  The  total  lengths  of  the  several 

kinds  of  pavements,  are  as  follows  :* 

Cobblestone .  280  38-100  miles 

Belgian  block .  22  41-100  “ 

Granite  block . . .  55  30-ibo  “ 

Asphalt . . .  882-100  “ 

366  91-100  miles 

•  . . . .  ■  . . - 

*From  Van  Brunt  Bergen,  First  Assistant  Engineer,  Department  of  City  Works, 
Brooklyn. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


319 


Yonkers 

Although  a  large  amount  of  stone  has  been  used  in  the 
city,  in  constructive  works,  there  are  comparatively  few  all 
stone  buildings.  The  notable  structures  are:  St.  John’s 
Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  rectory,  built  of  West¬ 
chester  gneiss,  rock-face  blocks  ;  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
in  course  of  erection,  of  sandstone  from  Belleville,  New 
Jersey,  with  facings  of  Carlisle  sandstone  ;  the  First  Metho¬ 
dist  Episcopal  church,  of  sandstone  ;  the  Baptist  church 
of  Connecticut  brownstone  ;  the  Westminster  Presbyterian 
church,  of  Westchester  county  gneiss  ;  and  the  historic  city 
hall,  dating  1682  (front  built  in  1745),  of  stone  laid  in 
rubble-work,  and  with  brick  side-walls.  There  is  one  block 
of  dwelling-houses  in  which  the  fronts  are  of  Connecticut 
sandstone.  The  business  buildings  are  generally  of  red 
brick,  with  stone  trimmings. 

The  boulders  of  the  drift,  found  in  excavating  for  cellars, 
and  in  street  grading,  which  are  of  diabase  from  the  Pali¬ 
sade  range,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  yield  a  durable 
stone  for  retainingf-walls  and  foundation  work.  Some  stone 
is  obtained  from  ledges  of  gneissic  rock  cut  in  the  city,  but 
it  is  inconsiderable  in  amount,  as  compared  with  what  is  got 
out  of  the  drift.  For  trimming,  with  brick,  Hudson  river 
blue-stone  and  Connecticut  brownstone  are  most  largely  in 
favor. 

The  streets  are  macadamized  roadways,  made  with  trap- 
rock.  Hudson  river  blue-stone  is  used  for  gutter-stone, 
curbing  and  for  flagging. 


Newburgh 

Newburgh,  from  its  situation  on  the  Hudson,  has  had  the 
advantage  of  low  rates  of  freight,  and  building  stone  from 
various  points  in  the  Hudson  valley  and  more  distant  locali¬ 
ties,  has  been  used  more  or  less  extensively.  For  founda¬ 
tions  and  retaining-walls  the  blue  limestones  near  the  city, 


320 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


have  furnished  much  stone.  Sandstone  from  Nyack  and 

Haverstraw,  and  Connecticut  brownstone  also  were  much 
used  formerly. 

“  Washington’s  Headquarters,”  built  in  1750,  is  the  oldest 
stone  building  in  the  city.  The  walls  are  laid  up  with  com¬ 
mon  field  stone,  mostly  sandstones.  Scarcely  any  signs  of 
weathering  are  noticeable  in  them.  The  St.  George  Prot¬ 
estant  Episcopal  church  is  another  old  structure,  of  dressed 
blue  limestone  with  brownstone  sills  and  water-tables. 
The  limestone  has  faded  and  is  a  gray-white  in  color,  but 
has  not  apparently  lost  in  strength  or  durability.  St.  Pat¬ 
rick’s  Roman  Catholic  church  is  another  structure  of  lime¬ 
stone,  part  of  which  is  reported  to  have  come  from  Kings¬ 
ton  quarries.  Some  of  the  blocks  are  weathered  yellow,  and 
in  some  the  clay  seams  appear  prominent,  although  the 
building  is  of  comparatively  recent  date.  The  First  Pres¬ 
byterian  church  is  a  large  and  ornate  edifice  of  a  dark,  slate- 
colored  sandstone,  obtained  from  near  Kingston.  The 
walls  are  of  small  stone,  laid  in  broken  courses  and 
trimmed  with  Ohio  sandstone.  There  are  no  signs  of  dis¬ 
integration  in  the  wall  stones.  Of  the  buildings  in  part  of 
stone,  the  more  notable  are  the  Academy  of  Music  (1887) 
and  the  Newburgh  academy,  both  of  red  brick  and  Massa¬ 
chusetts  red  sandstone.  Connecticut  brownstone  is  seen  in 
the  United  States  hotel,  the  post-office,  and  in  many  cases 
as  door-steps  and  house-trimmings.  Ohio  sandstone  ex¬ 
amples  are  :  the  Newburgh  city  library  and  the  savings  bank 
buildings. 

Streets. — The  sidewalks  are  paved  generally  with  blue- 
stone  from  the  Hudson  river  valley.  The  aggregate  length 
of  paved  sidewalks  is  about  thirty  miles.  Cross-walks  and 
curbing  also  are  of  blue  stone. 

The  roadways  are  laid  with  stone  to  the  following  extent  :* 

Cobblestone  pavement,  two  miles;  granite-block  pavement,  four  hundred 
feet. 

Statistics  of  street  work  from  Charles  Caldwell,  of  Caldwell  &  Garrison,  civil  en¬ 
gineers,  Newburgh. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


321 


Poughkeepsie 

Hudson  river  brick  predominates  as  building  material  in 
the  business  part  of  the  city.  It  is  used  for  the  walls,  with 
water-tables,  caps,  sills  and  lintels  of  stone.  The  founda¬ 
tions  are  generally  of  common  grades  of  limestone,  sand¬ 
stone  and  gneissic  rock,  which  are  from  small  local  quarries, 
or  are  obtained  at  points  on  the  river,  a  few  miles  away. 
For  trimming  brick  buildings,  Connecticut  brownstone  has 
been  used  largely.  Mill  street  has  many  residences  of  brick 
trimmed  with  stone.  Hudson  river  blue-stone  also  has  been 
used  extensively,  and  particularly  in  the  more  plain  and 
and  less  expensive  structures.  In  the  Vassar  Brothers’  In¬ 
stitute  of  Science,  in  the  Vassar  Home  and  in  the  Vassar 
hospital  granite  trimmings  are  seen,  with  red  brick  walls. 
Ohio  sandstone  and  red  brick  are  in  the  city  library  and  in 
the  Baptist  church.  The  more  prominent  examples  of  Con¬ 
necticut  brownstone  are  :  First  Reformed  church,  on  Main 
street,  basement ;  Second  Reformed  church,  on  Mill  street, 
trimmings  and  basement;  and,  the  First  Methodist  Episco¬ 
pal  church,  corner  of  Mill  and  Washington  streets,  trim¬ 
mings  only.  The  notable  buildings  of  stone  are  :  Church 
of  the  Holy  Comforter,  on  Main  street,  of  Hudson  river 
sandstone,  dressed,  and  in  broken  courses,  with  sills  and 
water-tables  of  Connecticut  brownstone ;  Christ  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  and  school,  corner  of  Academy  and  Bar¬ 
clay  streets,  a  large  and  recently  completed  structure  of 
Massachusetts  red  sandstone  ;  St.  Paul’s  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  church,  corner  of  Mansion  and  North  Hamilton 
streets,  of  rock-face  gneiss,  in  broken  courses,  and  with 
brownstone  trimmings.  White  marble  has  been  used  in 
one  front  on  Main  street.  Ohio  sandstone  appears  in  two 
fronts  of  business  buildings  on  the  same  street.  All  of  the 
above-mentioned  examples  in  stone  construction  are  com¬ 
paratively  new.  One  of  the  oldest  stone  buildings  is  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  White  streets,  and  is  known  as  “  Duke’s 
4i 


322 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


hotel.”  It  is  built  of  the  rough  stone  quarried  in  the  vicinity. 
The  brownstone  shows  signs  of  exfoliation  in  some  of  the 
older  buildings,  but  not  to  the  serious  extent  noticeable  in 
other  cities.  During  the  past  season  it  has  been  discolored 
in  shady  locations  by  the  growth  of  the  green  algae,  known 
specifically  as  cei'atodon  purpureus .  The  excessive  amount 
of  moisture  seems  to  have  favored  its  growth,  and  it  was 
particularly  luxuriant  on  the  more  shaded  walls  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  sandstone  in  Christ  church. 

Streets.—  Hudson  river  flagstone  is  employed  generally 
in  sidewalk  and  curbstone  construction  on  the  principal 
streets.  Brick  sidewalks  are,  however,  common,  owing  to 
their  cheapness.  For  the  roadways,  cobble  stone  pavement 
has  an  aggregate  length  of  four  and  one-quarter  miles. 
Belgian  blocks  are  laid  on  Market  street  a  length  of  about 
five  hundred  feet,  the  single  example  of  block  pavement  in 
the  city. 


Kingston 

The  city  of  Kingston  includes  Rondout,  with  Kingston 
proper.  In  the  former,  brick  is  the  principal  building  mate¬ 
rial  in  the  central  and  business  parts  of  the  place  ;  in  the 
latter  there  are  many  old,  stone  houses,  dating  back  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  besides  newer  buildings  of  stone.  Hud¬ 
son  river  blue-stone  is  used  almost  exclusively  in  brick 
buildings  for  sills,  lintels,  caps,  steps  and  trimmings  gen¬ 
erally.  And  little  stone  from  outside  the  Hudson  river  dis¬ 
trict  has  found  its  way  into  construction  in  Kingston.  The 
best  specimen  of  architecture  in  stone  is  the  First  Reformed 
church,  a  massively  built  structure,  and  yet  of  graceful  pro¬ 
portions —  of  blue-stone,  from  quarries  at  Stony  Hollow 
and  Bristol  Hill,  four  miles  north  of  the  city.  The  stone  is 
slate-colored  and  of  uniform  shade,  and  in  thin  courses  gen¬ 
erally.  The  walls  are  laid  with  dressed  blocks,  in  broken 
courses,  with  trimmings  of  the  same  stone.  This  church 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


323 


structure  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  beauty,  durability  and 
general  excellence  of  Hudson  river  blue-stone  in  walls,  for 
which  it  has  not  been  employed  as  largely  as  other  stone, 
on  account  of  its  greater  value  for  flagging.  The  Second 
Reformed  church,  built  in  1850,  is  of  limestone  from  local 
quarries.  It  is  disfigured  by  the  unequal  weathering  and 
consequent  variation  in  color  of  the  calcareous  and  argilla¬ 
ceous  or  clayey  portions  of  the  limestone.  This  weathering 
has  not,  however,  as  yet,  impaired  the  strength  or  affected 
seriously  the  enduring  quality  of  the  stone.  The  Ulster 
County  court  house,  built  in  1818,  is  of  blue  limestone  and 
the  good  condition  of  the  walls  shows  the  durability  of  the 
stone.  The  number  of  old  stone  houses  in  Kingston  is  a 
unique  fact,  in  our  American  towns.  General  George  H. 
Sharpe,  in  a  lecture  on  the  '‘Old  Houses  of  Kingston,” 
refers  to  eighty-five  stone  buildings  ;  according  to  a  recent 
revision  of  the  list,*there  are  now  fifty-eight  standing  and 
occupied ;  the  best  known,  and  probably  the  oldest,  is  the 
“  Senate  House,”  built  by  Wessels  Ten  Brock,  in  1676. 
The  cherty  limestone  in  it  shows  little  signs  of  weathering, 
excepting  in  the  deepening  of  the  furrows  in  the  rock-face 
blocks.  The  irregular  shaped  surfaces  of  rubble-work  do 
not  show  alteration  and  wear,  as  in  the  case  of  dressed  faces. 
The  variety*  of  stone  found  in  its  walls,  as  in  some  of  the 
other  old  houses  indicates  that  “field  stone”  was  used  in 
these  older  constructions.  With  few  exceptions  the  walls 
in  these  old  buildings  are  undresssed  stone  and  bricks,  laid 
on  their  natural  beds,  and  nearly  all  of  it  is  limestone.  Its 
durability  is  attested  by  its  uniformity  of  condition.  In  the 
older  walls  the  weathering  has  resulted  in  a  roughening  of 
some  of  the  surface  and  a  fading  of  color  from  blue  to  pale 
gray.  Onondaga  limestone,  which  is  quarried  in  the  city, 
furnishes  material  for  heavy  masonry,  foundations  and  re¬ 
taining  walls. 

*  Letter  of  Cornelius  Van  Gaasbeck,  Kingston,  January  23,  1890. 


324 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Streets. — The  Hudson  river  blue-stone,  obtained  at  the 
quarries  near  the  city  is  used  for  sidewalks  and  curbing. 
The  roadways  are  paved  and  macadamized.  The  statistics 
of  street  work  are  as  follows  :  * 

Belgian  block  pavement. . .  . 

Cobble  stone  pavement . 

Telford  and  Macadam  roads 

OR  in  miles: 

Block  pavement,  length . . . . . 1.9  miles. 

Telford  road,  length . 4.5  “ 

Tram  road,  length . . . . 1.6  “ 


6,275  feet* 

3,525  “ 

23,800  “ 


Albany 

The  amount  of  stone  used  in  construction  in  this  city  is 
comparatively  large,  and  a  great  variety  is  employed,  owing 
to  the  facilities  for  getting  it  from  the  several  stone  districts 
which  surround  it.  The  canals  and  the  river  afford  cheap 
freights  from  the  north,  west  and  south,  and  railway  lines 
converge  here  as  a  centre,  from  all  points  of  the  compass. 
As  the  capital  of  the  State  it  has  among  its  structures  of 
stone  the  several  state  buildings. 

Granites,  marbles,  sandstones  and  limestones  have  all 
been  used  in  the  state,  city  and  county  buildings,  and  in 
the  church  edifices.  Sandstones  are  more  common  in  the 
fronts  of  mercantile  buildings  and  in  those  of  private  dwell¬ 
ing-houses.  In  foundations,  and  in  common  wall-work, 
Schenectady  blue-stone  is  most  largely  used,  and  from  the 
quarries  at  Aqueduct  and  at  Schenectady.  Blue  limestone 
also  has  been  put  in  some  of  the  heavier  masonry.  For  the 
capitol  substructure  granite  from  the  Adirondacks,  and 
from  Monson,  Massachusetts,  and  a  large  amount  of  lime¬ 
stone  from  Willsborough,  on  Lake  Champlain,  from  Kings¬ 
ton  and  from  the  limestone  quarries  of  the  Mohawk  valley 
was  used.  Hudson  river  blue-stone  is  used  extensively  and 


*  Letter  of  Hon.  James  G.  Lindsley,  of  Rondout,  February  to,  1890. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES  325 

in  greater  part  as  sills,  caps,  steps,  and  in  trimming  brick 
buildings  of  all  kinds.  Connecticut  brownstone  is  seen  in 
many  of  the  fronts,  and  in  the  trimmings  of  brick  buildings, 
but  it  is  not  now  so  generally  used  as  it  was  formerly.  The 
East  Longmeadow  sandstones  have  apparently  taken  its 
place,  and  they  are  now  in  demand,  both  for  fronts  and  for 
all  stone  structures.  Limestone  has  not  been  employed  to 
the  same  extent  here  as  in  the  cities  of  the  central  and 
western  parts  of  the  state.  And  the  Indiana  oolitic  stone 
has  not  yet  come  into  general  notice  as  a  building  material. 

A  census  of  the  stone  fronts  and  all-stone  buildings, 
taken  for  this  report,  gives  the  following  statistics  : 

All-stone  buildings .  20 

Stone  fronts .  174 

As  several  of  these  all-stone  buildings  are  very  large,  the 
amount  of  stone  in  them  is  equivalent  to  a  much  greater 
number  of  average  city  structures.  The  capitol  alone  is 
equal  to  many  ordinary  average  city  buildings. 

The  examples  of  stone  construction  to  which  reference  is 
here  made  are  classified  by  kinds  of  stone.  And,  first  : 
granites  are  noted  in  the  capitol,  the  United  States  Gov¬ 
ernment  building,  the  city  hall,  Stanwix  Hall  hotel,  Albany 
.Savings  bank  and  Albany  City  bank.  The  first  story  of 
the  capitol  is  a  gray  granite  from  Yarmouth,  Maine.  Some 
of  the  stones  show  brown  spots  on  the  surface,  due  to  oxida¬ 
tion  of  the  iron.  There  is  also  a  noticeable  efflorescence 
on  some  parts  of  the  surface,  owing  apparently  to  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  the  water  on  the  mortar.  The  beautiful  gray  and  fine- 
crystalline  granite  of  the  upper  stories,  is  from  Hallowed, 
Maine.  It  shows  no  sign  of  deterioration  by  weathering. 
All  of  the  granite  in  the  capitol  is  cut  and  dressed  blocks. 
The  new  city  hall  and  county  building,  on  Eagle  street  and 
diagonally  across  the  park  from  the  capitol,  is  one  of  the  late 
Mr.  Richardson’s  architectural  monuments,  in  granite,  from 
Milford,  Massachusetts,  trimmed  with  East  Longmeadow 


326 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


sandstone.  The  granite  is  pink  in  color,  and  the  blocks 
are  laid  up  in  courses  with  rock-face  fronts.  The  same 
combination  of  granite  and  sandstone  is  seen  in  the  new 
Commercial  Bank  building,  on  State  street  near  Broadway, 
and  in  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  building,  on 
North  Pearl  street.  The  United  States  Government  build¬ 
ing,  at  the  foot  of  State  street,  is  built  of  gray  granite  from 
Maine.  That  of  the  upper  stories  is  said  to  be  from  the 
St.  George  quarries  in  Knox  county.  The  stone  in  the 
lower  story  is  coarse-grained,  and  is  from  Spruce  Head 
Island,  Maine.  The  Albany  City  bank  building  front,  on 
State  street,  is  from  the  same  quarries.  The  Stanwix 
Hall  hotel  front,  on  Broadway,  represents  the  Quincy 
granite  quarries. 

For  interior,  decorative  work  there  are  some  fine  exam¬ 
ples  in  the  capitol.  The  massive  columns  of  polished  red 
granite  in  the  Assembly  chamber  are  from  Grindstone  Is¬ 
land,  Jefferson  county  ;  those  of  the  Senate  chamber  are 
from  Stony  Creek,  Connecticut ;  the  pink  granites  in  the 
columns  of  the  library  are  from  Bay  of  Fundy,  Nova  Scotia. 

Marble  has  not  been  used  to  any  considerable  extent  for 
exterior  walls.  1  he  most  prominent  example  is  the  state 
hall,  built  in  1835-42,  of  a  dolomitic  stone  from  Sing  Sing. 
The  stone  is  coarse-ora#nular  and  friable.  In  the  outer 

o 

walls  it  is  every  where  weathered  to  a  bluish-gray  color,  and 
the  surfaces  are  roughened  by  the  decomposition  and  dis¬ 
integration.  Stones  in  the  cornice,  the  sills,  lintels  and 
steps,  where  they  are  more  exposed  to  the  action  of  rain¬ 
water  and  to  frosts,  are,  in  some  cases,  much  disintegrated, 
so  as  to  be  a  mass  of  loosely  coherent  grains,  and  they  are 
falling  to  pieces.  The  unsafe  condition  of  the  west  front 
cornice,  three  years  ago,  necessitated  its  removal  and  the 
substitution  of  metal  in  its  place.  It  appears  probable, 
from  a  remark  of  Prof.  William  Mather,*  that  the  stone  was 
not  well  selected. 


*  William  W.  Mather,  Geology  of  the  First  District,  Albany,  1843,  p.  455. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


-32/ 


In  the  interior  work  of  the  capitol,  the  Knoxville,  Ten¬ 
nessee  marble  has  been  used,  particularly  in  the  senate 
chamber  and  in  the  court  of  appeals  rooms ;  also,  in  some 
of  the  corridors.  The  panels  in  the  side-walls  in  the  former 
are  of  Mexican  onyx.  The  Sienna  marble,  from  Italy,  is 
seen  in  the  arches  of  the  same  room  and  in  the  fire-place  of 
the  court  of  appeals  room. 

On  State  street  and  Broadway  there  are  several  white 
marble  fronts,  notably  the  old  museum  building  at  the 
corner. 

Of  the  various  limestones,  the  more  prominent  construc¬ 
tions  are  :  Hawk  street  viaduct,  abutments  of  gray  lime 
stone  from  Cobleskill ;  Emanuel  Baptist  church,  State 
street,  built  in  1869-71,  of  unhewn,  Onondaga  gray  lime¬ 
stone  ;  Madison  Avenue  Reformed  church  (1881)  of  rock- 
face  blocks,  of  blue  limestone,  from  Willsborough,  Lake 
Champlain  ;  basement  story  of  the  Municipal  building, 
South  Pearl  street,  from  the  same  quarries.  In  the  last 
named  the  seams  of  argillaceous  material,  which  are 
revealed  by  weathering,  disfigure  the  stone. 

The  house  of  John  G.  Myers,  State  corner  of  Swan 
street,  is  a  fine  example  of  the  oolitic  limestone  from  Bed¬ 
ford,  Indiana. 

Caen  limestone  from  France  was  employed  in  the  trim¬ 
mings  of  St.  Joseph’s  Roman  Catholic  church,  built  in  i860. 
It  has  not  proved  a  durable  stone,  and  much  of  it  in  the 
facings  of  the  doorways  and  windows  and  in  the  quoins  and 
buttresses  of  the  walls,  has  been  replaced  by  Ohio  sand¬ 
stone.  The  disintegration  and  wear  appears  to  have  been 
most  serious  in  the  walls,  and  less  so  in  the  carved  finials 
and  mullions. 

Potsdam  sandstone  is  seen  in  the  All  Saints  cathedral, 
and  in  several  dwelling-houses  on  State  street.  The  fronts 
of  Nos.  286  and  290  State  street,  erected  about  twenty  years, 
are  of  this  stone  with  brown-stone  trimmings.  The  stone 
shows  no  evidence  of  wear  or  disintegration.  The  house  of 
18 


328^  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

R.  C.  Pruyn,  Englewood  place,  is  a  fine  example  of  the 
Potsdam  sandstone,  in  rock-face  ashlar  work,  with  dressed 
trimmings  of  brownstone.  In  the  cathedral  the  stone  is 
well  selected  generally  and  is  laid  in  course  work,  the  blocks 
having  rock-face  surfaces.  Some  of  them  are  ribbon-like  in 
appearance  owing  to  the  alternations  of  red  and  yellow  lines 
or  thin  layers.  The  facings  are  of  Connecticut  brownstone. 

Connecticut  brownstone  is  noted  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  on  Madison  ave¬ 
nue  ;  in  Tweddle  hall,  State  and  North  Pearl  streets  ;  in  the 
Delavan  house  (first  story  and  trimmings);  First  National 
Bank  building ;  and  in  numerous  fronts  on  the  business 
streets  of  the  city.  The  cathedral,  erected  in  1852,  is  one  of 
the  most  notable  examples  of  stone  which  has  been  damaged 
through  faulty  construction.  Excepting  in  the  new,  south 
tower,  nearly  all  of  the  blocks  are  set  on  edge.  The  stone 
varies  somewhat  in  texture,  from  fine-grained  and  shaly  to 
coarse-grained,  but  all  of  it  shows  a  tendency  to  scale  and 
many  of  the  fine-tooled  surfaces  have  disappeared  by  reason 
of  this  exfoliation  which  has  been  so  extensive.  A  part  of 
the  north  wall  has  been  re-dressed,  and  all  of  the  exterior 
wall  must  be  so  treated  or  rebuilt. 

The  house  fronts  on  Washington  avenue  and  those  on 
Broadway  and  State  street  do  not  show  so  much  flaking. 

The  Massachusetts  brown  and  red  sandstones,  from  the 
East  Longmeadow  quarries,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  new  Jewish 
synagogue,  Swan  and  Lancaster  streets;  the  First  Presby¬ 
terian  church,  corner  of  Willet  and  State  streets,  built  in 
1884;  Calvary  Baptist  church,  State  street  (first  story);  the 
Commercial  Bank  building,  and  the  Albany  County  Bank 
building  fronts  on  State  street ;  basement  story  and  trim¬ 
mings  of  the  new  armory,  Washington  avenue;  Young 
Men’s  Christian  Association  building,  on  North  Pearl  street ; 
house  of  Grange  Sard,  on  State  street,  and  many  other  new 
buildings.  In  nearly  all  cases  this  stone  is  used  in  rock- 
face  blocks,  with  dressed  trimmings  of  the  same. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


329 


Schenectady  blue-stone  is  seen  in  St.  Peters  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  on  State  street;  in  St.  Joseph’s  Roman 
Catholic  church,  Ten  Broeck  street  (walls);  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  corner  of  North 
Pearl  and  Colonie  streets;  in  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church,  on  Chapel  street,  and  in  St.  John’s  Roman  Catholic 
church,  Ferry  street.  The  stone  in  the  walls  of  St.  Peter’s 
church  is  nearly  all  natural-face  blocks,  and  many  of  them 
have  mellowed  on  exposure,  to  soft  yellowish  and  light- 
brown  tints,  which  give  the  building  the  appearance  of  age. 
Some  of  the  stone  shows  a  tendency  to  scale  off  at  the  cor¬ 
ners  and  on  the  edges.  The  building  is  in  the  decorated 
Gothic  style,  and  was  erected  in  i860.  The  trimmings  are 
New  Jersey  freestone.  In  the  Second  Presbyterian  church 
(1815),  the  stone  show  more  signs  of  disintegration  and  the 
selection  of  the  stone  appears  to  have  been  made  with  less 
care.  The  durability  and  strength  of  the  walls  are  not> 
however,  impaired  by  the  wear.  A  noteworthy  example  of 
Hudson  river  blue-stone  can  be  seen  in  the  house  of  H.  G. 
Young,  No.  425  State  street,  where  the  blocks  are  in  course- 
work  and  have  bush-hammered  surfaces. 

The  Albany  academy  (built  in  1815),  is  a  fine  architect¬ 
ural  example  of  Nyack  sandstone,  and  well-preserved. 

Medina  sandstone  has  not  been  used  to  any  extent.  It 
is  seen  in  the  first  story  of  Tweddle  hall,  on  State  street ; 
and  the  steps  of  the  west  staircase  in  the  capitol,  from 
the  Albion  quarries. 

Of  foreign  sandstones  there  are  in  the  capitol:  the  Dor¬ 
chester  stone,  in  the  assembly  staircase,  and  the  Scotch 
sandstone  in  the  south-eastern  or  senate  staircase,  and  in 
the  new  rooms  of  the  state  library. 

Streets. — The  stone  which  is  used  for  sidewalks  and 
curbing  is  mainly  Hudson  river  blue-stone,  and  from  the 
quarries  of  Albany  county  and  the  river  counties.  The 
specifications  require  that  the  curbstones  shall  be  dressed 
on  edges.  For  crosswalks  granite  has  been  used  in  the 


330 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


streets  where  the  pavement  has  been  renewed  recently. 
There  are  isolated  cases  where  granite  sidewalks  exist.  A 
few  examples  remain  of  the  old  mica-schist  flagstone  walks, 
in  some  of  the  less  frequented  streets. 

The  cobblestone  pavements  are  still  in  excess  of  all 
others,  but  in  all  of  the  more  recently  paved  streets  granite 
blocks  or  asphalt  pavement  has  been  laid.  The  lengths  of 
paved  streets,  and  kinds  of  pavements  are  given  by  the  city 
engineer  in  his  report  as  follows  :* 


Cobblestone .  35  81-100  miles. 

Granite  block . 16  39-100  “ 

Block  (not  granite) . 1  42-100  “ 

McAdam  road-bed . 1  71-100  “ 

Asphalt .  46-100  “ 


Total  length 


55  79-100 


Troy 

The  quarries  in  the  Hudson  river  group  of  sandstone, 
opened  in  the  city,  furnish  stone  for  foundation  and  common 
wall  work.  “  Schenectady  bluestone,”  obtained  at  Aque¬ 
duct  and  Schenectady,  also  is  used  for  foundations  and 
cut-work.  Limestone  from  Tribes  Hill  and  Amsterdam, 
Willsborough  Neck,  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  Sandy  Hill, 
Warren  county,  have  all  been  used  extensively.  Connec¬ 
ticut  brownstone  has  had  the  greatest  use  in  fronts  and  in 
trimmings  with  red  brick.  Red  sandstone  from  Massachu¬ 
setts  is  noted  in  the  newer  constructions,  and  the  Union  Na¬ 
tional  Bank  building,  on  Fourth  street,  is  an  example  of  it. 

Maine  granite  is  seen  in  the  city  hall,  and  the  Troy  Sav¬ 
ings  Bank  buildings.  The  county  court-house  is  an  old 
building  of  Sing  Sing-marble.  St.  John’s  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  church,  Liberty  and  First  streets,  and  the  Troy  club, 
house,  are  new  structures  of  brown  sandstone.  The  Malden 
blue-stone  is  noted  in  306-308  River  street.  St.  Paul’s  Pro- 

*  Message  of  Hon.  James  H.  Manning,  Albany,  1890,  p.  39. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


331 


testant  Episcopal  church,  State  and  Third  streets,  built 
about  fifty  years  ago,  of  Amsterdam  limestone,  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Fifth  avenue  and  State  street, 
of  Willsborough  Neck,  are  examples  showing  the  durability 
of  this  limestone.  In  the  first-named  the  clay  seams  are 
prominent  and  unsightly,  although  not  impairing  the 
strength.  The  parish  house  of  the  St.  Paul’s  church  is  of 
Schenectady  bluestone. 

Reference  is  here  made  to  the  recently  completed  crema¬ 
tory  in  the  Oak  Hill  cemetery,  as  a  beautiful  specimen  piece 
of  architecture  in  granite,  from  Westerly,  Rhode  Island. 

The  monument  to  General  Wool,  in  the  same  cemetery, 
is  remarkable  as  a  monolith  of  gray  granite,  sixty  feet  in 
height,  and  quarried  at  Vinal  Haven,  Penobscot  Bay,  Maine. 

Streets. — The  sidewalks  and  curbing  are  mainly  Hudson 
river  blue-stone,  although  much  brick  continues  on  the  less 
traveled  streets. 

The  statistics  of  roadways  are  as  follows  :  * 

Cobblestone  paved  streets .  5.5  miles 

Granite  block  paved  streets .... .  9.12  “ 

Stone  block  paved  streets . 5  “ 

Total  stone-paved .  15.12  miles 


Schenectady 

Quarries  in  the  blue-stone  and  in  the  limestone  of  the 
Mohawk  valley  furnish  stone  for  foundations  and  some 
dimension  and  cut-work.  The  so-called  “  Schenectady  blue- 
stone  ”  is  quarried  within  the  city  limits,  on  the  east.  For 
house-trimmings  and  for  steps  and  platforms,  limestone  from 
quarries  at  Tribes  Hill  has  been  used  largely,  although  not 
so  generally  as  in  former  years,  and,  in  the  newer  build¬ 
ings,  more  brownstone  and  red  sandstone  are  to  be  seen. 

Among  the  stone  buildings  of  the  place  reference  is  made 
to  the  following:  The  First  Reformed  church,  Union  and 


*  From  P.  H.  Baerman,  civil  engineer,  Troy. 


332 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Church  streets,  an  ornate  and  beautiful  structure  whose 
walls  are  of  Schenectady  blue-stone,  of  natural-face  blocks 
and  trimmmed  with  Connecticut  brownstone,  dressed  lime, 
stone  and  Ohio  sandstone.  The  stone  in  the  walls  was 
selected  with  care  and  shows  no  signs  of  decay.  The 
weathered,  faint  brown  and  yellow  surfaces,  which  in  no  wise 
impair  the  strength  or  affect  the  durability,  give  tone  to  the 
color  and  produce  a  pleasant  impression. 

St.  George’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  in  North  Ferry 
street,  is  an  old  structure,  also  of  the  bluestone,  which 
shows  its  durability.  The  older  walls  are  common  rubble- 
work.  There  is  some  limestone  with  the  bluestone.  The 
Presbyterian  church,  Catherine  and  State  streets,  is  a  mod¬ 
ern  construction  (1886)  of  the  same  bluestone,  with  water- 
table  and  sills  of  dressed  gray  limestone  from  Palatine 
Bridge.  Memorial  hall,  Union  college,  shows  the  same 
stone,  but  with  brown  sandstone  and  Ohio  sandstone  in 
glaring  contrasts  of  color.  The  Edison  hotel,  near  the 
station,  has  the  Longmeadow  brown  sandstone  and  Tribes 
Hill  blue  limestone,  used  effectively  with  brick.  Other  stone 
buildings  are,  the  old  court  house,  the  Mohawk  National 
bank  and  a  dwelling  (first  story),  on  Union  street. 

Streets.  —  The  statistics  of  the  street  work  in  stone,  as 
estimated  by  William  Gifford,  city  engineer,  are  : 


Cobblestone  paved  streets  . . .  12  miles. 

Medina  sandstone  block  pavements .  800  feet. 

Streets  paved  with  asphalt .  2700  feet. 


Total  length  of  streets .  50  miles. 

Total  length  of  sidewalks .  32  “ 

Bluestone  laid  walks .  20  “ 


Cohoes 

This  city  is  remarkable  for  the  almost  entire  absence  of 
all-stone  buildings.  A  large  amount  of  stone  has  been  put 
in  the  foundations  and  basement  stories  of  the  large  mills  — 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


333 


mostly  Schenectady  bluestone.  For  trimmings  of  brick 
stores  and  dwellings  the  same  stone  has  had  some  use,  al¬ 
though  not  so  large  as  that  of  the  Hudson  river  blue-stone. 
The  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  near  the  railroad  depot, 
is  the  only  large  structure  all  of  stone.  The  Schenectady 
bluestone  in  it  shows  many  blocks  weathered  in  various 
shades  of  yellow  and  green. 

There  are,  in  the  city,  streets  paved  * 

With  granite  blocks .  2.3  miles. 

With  Belgian  blocks .  2,000  feet. 

With  Medina  sandstone .  300  feet. 

Or,  a  total  of  paved  streets . .  2.8  miles. 

The  total  length  of  sidewalk  paved .  9.1  “ 

Of  the  above  about  three  miles  is  laid  with  composition 
tar  pavement. 


Utica 

In  the  city  of  Utica  brick  dominates,  as  a  building  mate¬ 
rial  in  the  better  class  of  dwelling-houses,  in  the  church  edi¬ 
fices  and  in  the  larger  structures  devoted  to  mercantile 
business  and  manufacturing  work.  A  great  variety  of  stone  is 
used  for  water-tables,  steps,  caps,  lintels,  sills,  pediments  and 
string  courses  with  brick  walls.  Sandstone  from  Frankfort 

and  from  Clinton  is  used  in  foundation  and  common  wall- 

» 

work,  also,  limestone  from  Canajoharie  and  from  the  Pros¬ 
pect  quarries.  The  Trenton  limestone  from  the  last-named 
locality  has  been  largely  employed  in  trimming,  and  in  axe- 
hammered,  bush-hammered  or  pointed  dimension-blocks, 
but  is  giving  way,  to  some  extent,  before  the  tide  of  fashion, 
which  is  calling  for  sandstones*  It  still  finds  a  large  use  in 
the  smaller  and  less  expensive  buildings,  and  for  platforms 
and  steps  it  continues  to  be  the  best  material  here.  The 
comparatively  less  cost  in  dressing  the  softer  sandstones, 
and  their  employment  in  rock-face  ashlar  with  brick,  in  ac- 


*  Letter  of  Edward  Hayes,  civil  engineer,  April  7,  1890. 


334 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


cordance  with  the  prevailing  styles  in  larger  buildings,  has 
caused  a  relative  decline  in  the  use  of  limestone,  particu¬ 
larly  the  dressed  stone.  And,  as  a  result,  sandstones  from 
Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  and  from  Higginsville  and 
Oxford,  in  this  state,  are  seen  in  the  new  and  more  massive 
structures.  Marble  and  granite  have  found  little  use  in 
wall-work.  Among  the  more  prominent  stone  buildings 
and  examples  in  stone  construction,  the  following  are  here 
mentioned  :  Grace  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  on  Genesee 
street,  of  sandstone  said  to  have  been  obtained  from  the 
New  Hartford  quarries,  and  trimmed  with  limestone  from 
Prospect  The  rusty-brown  discoloration  of  the  sandstone, 
noticed  in  many  of  the  blocks,  and  the  varying  shades  of 
color  in  them  generally,  gives  to  the  building  an  old  look. 
The  limestone  shows  clayey  seams.  The  Universalist 
church,  on  Seneca  street,  is  of  the  same  sandstone  (front) 
and  it  exhibits  a  variation  in  color  which  mars  the  effect  of 
an  otherwise  substantial-looking  stone.  The  English 
Lutheran  church,  on  Columbia  street,  near  State  street,  is 
constructed  of  the  Clinton  sandstone,  with  Trenton  lime¬ 
stone  for  trimmings.  The  Memorial  Presbyterian  church, 
court,  corner  of  Garden  street,  also  is  of  Clinton  sandstone. 
The  houses  of  Thomas  F.  Baker,  and  William  F.  Baker,  on 
Genesee  street,  are  fine  examples  in  the  modified  Roman¬ 
esque  style  of  architecture  of  the  Higginsville  stone.  In 
one,  the  stone  selected,  is  of  a  reddish  shade  of  color;  in  the 
other  the  blue  sandstone  is  used  exclusively.  The  blocks 
are  laid  in  broken  courses  and  are  rock-face  front.  The 
trimmings  are  of  the  same  stone,  tooled.  The  houses  of 
Frederick  Gilbert  and  Thomas  E.  Kinney,  on  Genesee 
street,  are  built  of  the  same  stone.  It  is  hard  and  durable, 
and  in  these  buildings  it  looks  well.  The  cost  of  working 
it  precludes  its  more  extensive  use. 

The  state  lunatic  asylum  building,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  city,  a  large  structure,  with  Doric  columns,  is  the  best  ex¬ 
ample  of  the  Trenton  limestone  and  the  quarries  at  Prospect. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


335 


The  new  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  building,  on 
Bleecker  street,  has  its  first  story  of  Massachusetts  red  sand¬ 
stone  laid  in  rock-face  ashlar  work  ;  and  its  trimmings  of 
the  upper  stories  of  the  same  stone,  partly  tooled  and  partly 
rock-face. 

The  Oneida  national  bank,  and  Rowland’s  bank  build¬ 
ings,  on  Genesee  street,  are  also  of  Massachusetts  red 
sandstone,  with  brick. 

The  Mann  block  is  said  to  have  Haverstraw  sandstone 
for  trimmings ;  those  of  the  Comstock  building  are  red 
sandstone  from  Belleville,  New  Jersey;  of  the  first  na¬ 
tional  bank  building,  of  Connecticut  brownstone. 

The  United  States  Government  building  has  granite  walls 
in  the  basement  story,  and  Ohio  sandstone  trimmings,  with 
brick  above. 

The  blue  sandstone  of  Oxford,  Chenango  Co.,  is  seen  in 
the  dressed  stone  caps  and  sills  and  the  rock-face  walls  of 
the  first  story  of  the  St.  James  hotel,  on  the  corner  of 
Whitesboro  and  Division  streets. 

White  marble  appears  in  the  fronts  of  Mather’s  bank 
building,  and  in  Nos.  52  and  54  Genesee  street. 

One  of  the  older  examples  of  the  Trenton  limestone 
(Prospect  quarries),  is  in  the  basement  story  of  Bagg’s 
hotel,  where  the  weathering  is  apparent  in  the  more  cal¬ 
careous  portions  of  the  stone,  and  the  blocks  have  a  seamy 
aspect.  The  durability  is  not  however  affected  seriously  by 
the  changes  on  the  surface  of  the  stone.  The  stone  trim¬ 
mings  of  the  Reformed  church  on  Genesee  street,  show 
similar  surface  weathering. 

Other  stone  structures  which  may  be  referred  to,  are  the 
city  jail,  of  dressed  gray  limestone  ;  the  Williams  building, 
of  Prospect  limestone  and  brick,  and  the  Creeman  building, 
of  sandstone  and  brick,  both  on  Genesee  street. 

Streets.  —  The  sidewalks  are  mostly  of  blue-stone  from 
Atwater,  on  Cayuga  lake,  and  from  the  Hudson  river.  The 

19 


336  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


crosswalks  are  of  Medina  sandstone;  the. curbing  is  largely 
sandstone  from  Chenango  county. 

For  roadways  the  Hammond  sandstone  block  pavement 
was  generally  employed  up  to  the  introduction  of  the  asphalt, 

of  which  there  has  been  much  laid  in  the  residence  streets. 
F.  K.  Baxter,  city  engineer,  reports  that  there  are  of 

paved  streets,  the  following : 

Hammond  sandstone  block,  length . .  8  miles 

.  Granite  block . . . . 2  “ 

Cobblestone .  . . .  12  “ 

Telford  and  Macadam . .  2.12  “ 

Total  length  of  stone  sidewalks .  40  miles 


Elmira 

Elmira  is  a  city  of  brick  and  frame  structures,  and  re¬ 
markable  for  the  small  number  of  stone  buildings.  The 
Park  Congregational  church  is  constructed  of  blue  sand¬ 
stone,  from  Corning,  laid  in  rock-face  and  in  broken  courses, 
and  trimmed  with  a  siliceous  conglomerate  from  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  The  sandstone  is  of  various  shades  of  yellow,  and 
the  want  of  uniform  color  gives  it  an  old  and  weathered 
appearance.  A  large  amount  of  Onondaga  limestone,  from 
the  quarries  near  Syracuse,  has  been  used  in  fine-cut  sills, 
lintels,  water-tables  and  steps,  with  brick  walls.  Good  ex¬ 
amples  are  in  the  court-house  and  county  buildings.  Sand¬ 
stones  from  the  Euclid  quarries,  Ohio,  and  from  other 
localities  have  been  introduced  and  found  a  limited  use  in 
the  newer  buildings. 

The  sandstone  of  local  quarries,  near  the  city,  is  used  al¬ 
most  exclusively  in  foundations  and  in  retaining-walls,  and 
to  some  extent  in  curbing. 

Streets.  —  Flagstone  from  Trumansburgh,  and  the  quarries 
along  the  Delaware  river,  is  used  for  sidewalks  and  cross¬ 
walks.  The  Medina  sandstone  has  been  used  for  the  paving 
of  roadways.  A.  P.  Bovier,  city  engineer,  reports  “  about 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


337 


five  miles  of  paved  streets  and  twenty  miles  of  stone  side¬ 
walks.”  * 


Binghamton 

Although  brick  is  the  leading  constructive  material 
used  in  the  larger  and  more  important  structures,  much 
stone  has  been  put  in  buildings  erected  during  the  past 
decade  ;  and  the  city  has  some  notable  stone  buildings.  Of 
these,  one  of  the  oldest  is  the  Christ  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  built  of  greenish-gray  sandstone,  from  Bucklin’s 
quarry  at  Oxford,  Chenango  county.  During  the  past 
summer  the  north  side  was  bright-green  with  a  growth  of 
algae.  The  United  States  Government  building  (completed 
recently)  is  of  Warsaw  sandstone  and  Portage  sandstone, 
The  stones  are  cut  with  rock-face  and  are  laid  in  broken 
courses,  with  fine-cut  stone  in  the  arched  lintels,  sills,  water- 
tables,  etc.  Upon  close  inspection  some  of  the  blocks  are 
noticed  as  having  a  rusty  appearance,  but  as  a  whole  there 
is  a  uniform  shade  of  faint-greenish-gray  which  produces  a 
pleasing  effect.  The  Westcott  building,  on  State  street,  is 
one  of  the  most  ornate  new  architectural  structures,  having 
blue  sandstone  from  Warsaw  in  the  three  lower  stories,  and 
brick  above,,  trimmed  with  the  same  stone.  Oxford  blue 
sandstone  is  seen  in  the  new  business  building,  on  the  corner 
of  Henry  street  and  Commercial  avenue.  It  is  used  in 
rock-face  blocks  with  red  brick  .  Berea,  Ohio,  sandstone 
is  being  employed  in  the  first  story,  and  in  trimmings  for 
the  upper  stories,  of  a  new  building  opposite,  and  on  Henry 
street.  Another  new  composite  structure  of  brick  and 
Warsaw  sandstone,  is  the  tall  Ross  building  on  Court 
street,  corner  of  State.  These  new  business  buildings  will  give 
an  opportunity  to  study  the  effects  of  weathering  on  these 
.  three  sandstones,  under  similar  conditions,  and  for  a  uni¬ 
form  length  of  time.  Onondaga  gray  limestone  has  been 

*  Letter  December  28,  1889. 


43 


33§ 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


employed,  to  a  great  extent  for  trimming  with  brick,  and  for 
street  work.  One  of  the  most  notable  examples  of  this  stone 
is  the  massive  Susquehanna  Valley  bank  building,  on  Court 
street.  The  stone  is  fine-cut  and  laid  in  courses.  Sisson’s 
block,  on  the  same  street,  the  Broome  county  court-house 
(basement  story)  and  a  front  on  the  Court-House  square 
are  other  noteworthy  Onondaga  limestone  buildings  ;  and, 
with  red  brick,  the  High  school  and  the  church  opposite, 
on  Court  street.  The  use  of  this  stone  is,  however,  declin¬ 
ing,  and  it  is  being  replaced  by  sandstone. 

Streets.  —  For  sidewalks,  flagstone  from  quarries  on  the 
Delaware  river,  between  Hancock  and  Port  Jervis,  is  most 
commonly  used.  And  there  is  an  aggregate  length  of 
eleven  and  three-fourths  miles  of  street  with  seven-foot 
stone  sidewalks,  equivalent  to  twenty-three  and  one-half 
miles  linear  measurement.*  Stone  curbing,  two  and  one- 
half  feet  by  four  inches  thick,  is  laid  on  at  least  one-third  of 
the  streets  as  yet  unpaved.  None  of  the  roadways  are 
paved  with  stone,  asphalt  and  wood  being  used. 

Syracuse 

As  might  be  expected  from  the  nearness  of  the  quarries 
in  the  famous  Onondaga  limestone,  Syracuse  is  built  largely 
of  limestone.  Both  the  blue  and  the  gray  varieties  are 
used  —  the  former  in  foundations  and  rough  wall-work,  the 
latter  in  cut-work.  This  stone  is  seen  in  all  the  heavy 
masonry,  and  in  nearly  all  of  the  older  buildings.  Sand¬ 
stones  from  Ohio,  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey,  and  from 
Potsdam,  Warsaw  and  Granby  have  taken  its  place  in  some 
of  the  newer  constructions.  Granite  has  not  been  used  to 
any  extent. 

The  Onondaga  gray  limestone  is  seen  in  the  new  city 
hall,  the  United  States  Government  building,  St.  Paul’s 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  on  Fayette  street,  May  Mem-  % 

*  Letter  of  H.  C.  Merrick,  City  Engineer,  December  26,  [889. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


339 


orial  Unitarian  church,  and  the  Reformed  church,  on  James 
street,  St.  Mary’s  Roman  Catholic  church,  corner  of  Mont¬ 
gomery  and  Jefferson  streets  ;  in  the  Onondaga  county 
savings  bank ;  in  the  Astronomical  observatory  and  hall 
of  languages,  Syracuse  university  ;  the  house  of  Mr.  White, 
on  James  street,  Hogan  block  and  the  Peck  building.  The 
most  beautiful  examples  of  the  Onondaga  gray  limestone 
are:  the  United  States  Government  building,  the  stone  of 
which  is  from  the  Reservation  quarries  ;  St.  Mary’s  Roman 
Catholic  church,  the  St.  Paul’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
the  May  Memorial  church  and  the  new  city  hall.  In  St. 
Paul’s  church  there  is  a  pleasing  contrast  between  the  fine- 
tooled  stone,  of  light-gray  shade,  as  seen  in  the  spire  and 
the  trimmings,  and  the  dark-gray,  rock-face  ashlar  of  the 
walls.  These  buildings  are  comparatively  new,  having  been 
built  during  the  present  decade.  The  Onondaga  county 
court  house,  whose  walls  are  of  blocks  of  uniform  size  and 
laid  in  regular  courses,  is  one  of  the  older  buildings  in  which 
this  stone  has  been  used,  and  the  sound  condition  of  its 
walls  are  evidence  of  the  durability  of  the  stone.  In  some 
cases  north-facing  walls  of  Onondaga  limestone  are  dis¬ 
colored  or  darkened  in  streaks  by  a  fungus  growth,  but  the 
stone  is  not  apparently  impaired  by  it.  In  St.  Mary’s  Ro¬ 
man  Catholic  church  this  is  noticeable.  In  the  bush-ham¬ 
mered  stone,  as  in  the  Government  building,  the  style  of 
dressing  shows  the  corals  in  the  rock,  due  to  the  crystalline 
nature  of  the  coralline  masses  in  the  gray  matrix.  Another 
possible  objection  to  this  stone  is  the  white  calcareous  de¬ 
posits  sometimes  carried  down  over  red  brick  walls,  when 
used  together.  Examples  of  red  brick  trimmed  with  the 
limestone  are  seen  in  Durston  Memorial  building,  on  James 
street,  the  county  clerk’s  office  building,  New  York  state 
armory  building,  the  Von  Ranke  library,  and  others. 

Sandstone  from  Fulton  appears  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  Fayette  and  South  Salina  streets  (built  in  1840),  and 
in  St.  James’  Free  church,  on  Locke  street.  The  large  per- 


340 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


centage  of  stone  set  on  edge  in  the  walls  of  the  first-named 
building  has  caused  a  rapid  weathering,  through  flaking  and 
the  appearance  of  clay  holes,  and  has  given  the  structure  an 
ancient  look.  More  carefully  laid  stone,  as  in  the  St.  James’ 
church,  is  not  as  much  weathered,  although  the  building  is 
not  as  old.  Potsdam  sandstone  is  represented  by  the 
“  Florence,”  on  South  Salina  street.  Rock-face  ashlar  walls 
in  the  first  story,  and  the  trimmings  with  red  brick  above, 
make  a  substantial-looking  front,  and  there  is  a  blending  of 
color  in  the  red  brick  with  this  stone,  which  is  pleasing. 
The  Granby  brown  sandstone  is  seen  in  the  Fay  building  on 
West  Fayette  street.  Clay  holes  appear  in  the  tooled  blocks 
of  the  front.  The  recently  completed  (1889)  John  Crouse 
Memorial  college  for  women  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  of 
newer  architectural  design  and  of  solid  construction  in  the 
city.  It  is  built  of  granite  from  Milford,  and  red  sandstone 
from  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts.  This  composite  arrange¬ 
ment  of  stone  is  effective  and  pleasing  in  appearance.  The 
Third  national  bank  building,  on  North  Salina,  corner  of 
Willow  street,  and  the  Crouse  stables  are  also  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  sandstone.  New  Jersey  sandstone  was  noted  in  the 
Frazer  building  on  South  Salina  street.  Ohio  sandstone 
has  been  used  in  the  residence  streets  to  some  extent.  It  is 
cheaper  than  the  limestone  for  cut-work ;  examples  are  the 
Syracuse  Savings  bank,  on  North  Salina  street,  and  in  the 
Wieting  Opera  house,  and  the  D.  McCarthy  building,  on 
Washington  street. 

Streets. — The  Onondaga  limestone  was  formerly  in  favor 
for  sidewalks,  platforms  and  curbing,  and  it  is  seen  in  the 
older  paved  parts  of  the  city.  The  newer  laid  sidewalks 
are  largely  Cayuga  (planed)  sandstone  and  Ohio  sandstone. 
The  Warsaw  blue  sandstone  around  the  armory,  Jefferson 
and  Clinton  streets,  is  notable  for  its  evenness  and  its  gran¬ 
ular  surface  which  does  not  become  smooth  and  slippery  as 
the  limestone.  Some  flagging  from  Chenango  county  has 
been  laid.  The  crosswalks  are  mainly  of  Potsdam  sand- 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


341 


stone.  For  roadways  the  Potsdam  and  Medina  sandstones 
have  been  employed ;  and  there  are  in  the  city :  * 

Streets  paved  with  sandstone,  total  length .  3.40  miles 

Streets  paved  with  cobblestone,  total  length .  r.54 

Streets  paved  writh  limestone  block,  total  length...  .16  <! 

Total .  5.10  miles 


Streets  paved  with  block  asphalt . 12  miles 

Streets  macadamized . . 47.00  “ 

<  _ 

Total  length  paved  street .  ....  52.22  miles 


Oswego 

Oswego  from  its  situation  on  the  lake  commands  cheap 
water  freight,  and  in  this  way  stone  from  the  west  and  from 
points  on  the  St.  Lawrence  come  to  it.  The  principal  build¬ 
ing  stone  in  use  for  common  wall  work  is  the  coarse-grained, 
light-gray  sandstone,  of  the  Medina  sandstone  formation. 
It  is  quarried  on  the  lake  shore  and  within  the  city  limits, 
north-east  from  Fort  Ontario  to  the  New  York,  Ontario 
and  Western  Railroad  company’s  shops.  For  the  heavy 
masonry  of  the  breakwater  in  front  of  the  city,  and  for  locks 
and  piers,  Chaumont  limestone  has  been  used  almost  ex¬ 
clusively.  Onondaga  gray  limestone,  dressed,  and  in  course 
work,  appears  in  the  county  court  house.  The  old  Fort 
Ontario  walls  and  structures  are  of  sandstone  from  the  local 
quarries.  The  United  States  post-office,  and  custom  house 
building  is  of  Ohio  sandstone.  The  First  Presbyterian  and 
Christ  (Protestant  Episcopal)  churches,  are  built  of  sand¬ 
stone  from  local  quarries.  The  Church  of  the  Evangelists 
is  of  a  spotted-red  sandstone  from  Oswego  Falls.  One  of 
the  newer  stone  fronts  is  that  of  the  Second  National  bank, 
in  which  the  Granby  sandstone,  carefully  selected,  has  been 
put.  There  are  in  all  about  a  dozen  stone  dwelling-houses  * 
and  business  fronts. 


*  Annual  report  John  B.  Borden,  City  Engineer,  1S89  page  69. 


342 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Streets.  —  The  statistics  of  street  work,  furnished  by  N. 
J.  Harris,  city  surveyor,  are  as  follows  : 

Cobblestone  pavement,  total  length . 1.3  miles. 

Block  stone  pavement,  total  length . 53  “ 

Macadamized  streets,  total  length  . .2.18  “ 

4.01  miles 

Sidewalks  —  stone . 7.00  miles. 

The  block  pavement  is  mostly  gray*  and  red  sandstone. 
The  sidewalks  are  laid  with  blue-stone. * 

Auburn 

Auburn  is  on  the  Upper  Helderberg  limestone,  and  the 
quarries  which  have  been  opened  in  this  formation  have 
furnished  a  large  amount  of  building  material  to  the  city ; 
and  the  percentage  of  stone  construction  in  the  city  is  un¬ 
usually  high.  The  blue  limestone  is  put  in  rubble-work  and 
in  common  walls  and  foundations;  the  gray  limestone  is 
used  for  dimension  work  and  for  curbing,  gutter-stone,  plat¬ 
forms  and  house-trimmings.  The  Cayuga  county  court¬ 
house  is  one  of  the  old  structures  built  of  limestone.  Its 
walls  are  discolored  slightly  by  iron  stains,  resulting  from 
the  decomposition  of  pyrite  in  the  stone.  The  city  hall  is 
of  blue  limestone.  The  state  prison  and  its  inclosing  walls 
are  of  gray  limestone.  The  First  Presbyterian  church,  built 
in  1870,  and  the  First  Baptist  church,  in  1883,  are  beautiful 
examples  of  the  gray  limestone,  in  rock-face  ashlar  work, 
with  ax-hammered  and  bush-hammered  limestone  trimmings. 
The  rock-face  and  the  ax-hammered  and  bush-hammered 
surfaces,  when  thus  brought  together,  produce  a  pleasing 
effect  by  their  not  too  great  contrast  in  shades  of  color, 
varying  from  dark  to  light-gray. 

Other  notable  buildings  of  limestone  are  :  St.  Peter’s 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  St.  Mary’s  Roman  Catholic 


*  Letter,  dated  April  9,  1890. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


343 


church,  the  new  arsenal,  and  Willard  hall  and  Morgan  hall 
of  the  Theological  seminary.  On  Genesee  street  there  are 
about  twenty  stone  store  fronts,  and  all  about  the  city  lime¬ 
stone  buildings  are  to  be  seen. 

Very  little  stone  other  than  that  from  the  local  quarries 
has  been  used  here.  Perhaps  the  most  beautiful  example 
is  the  High  school  building,  its  first  story  in  rock-face  ashlar 
of  Potsdam  sandstone  and  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts, 
brown  sandstone  trimmings.  The  bright-colored  Potsdam 
stone  looks  well,  associated  with  the  sombre-looking  Long- 
meadow  sandstone.  Another  example  of  the  Potsdam  sand¬ 
stone  is  seen  in  a  new  house  on  Genesee  street.  The  Me¬ 
dina  sandstone,  from  Albion,  is  seen  in  Gen.  McDougall’s 
house.  Scotch  sandstone  appears  in  a  national  bank  build¬ 
ing  on  the  same  street. 

Streets.  —  Of  the  eighty  miles  of  streets  in  the  city, 
about  one  mile  is  paved  with  Medina  sandstone  blocks. 
The  aggregate  length  of  flagstone  sidewalks  is  about 
twenty  miles.  The  flagstone  is  obtained  from  Trumans- 
burgh.* 

Rochester 

The  city  of  Rochester  has  within  its  limits  several  large 
quarries  in  the  Niagara  limestone,  which  supply  nearly  all 
of  the  stone  needed  in  foundations,  party-walls  and  common 
rubble-work.  This  stone  is  sold  at  six  dollars  per  cord,  de¬ 
livered.  It  is  sometimes  dressed  for  rock-face  ashlar-work 
also.  The  Medina  sandstone  formation  affords  an  inferior 
building  stone,  but  it  is  not  now  used.f  The  older  mill 
buildings  seen  along  the  river  are  constructed  of  inferior 
grades  of  sandstone,  and  of  limestone.  In  the  newer  mills 
and  factories  brick,  with  red  Medina  sandstone,  is  used  gen¬ 
erally.  The  newer  mercantile  structures  are,  also,  largely 

*  Letter  of  D.  F.  Austin,  City  Surveyor,  January  17,  1890. 

f  Formerly  this  stone  was  quarried  in  the  bed  of  the  Genesee. —  Geology  of  the 
Fourth  District,  by  Prof,  Hall,  p.  432. 

20 


344 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


trimmed  with  Medina  sandstone.  For  heavy  masonry  lime¬ 
stone  from  Lockport  and  from  Union  Springs  has  been 
employed.  The  leading  supply  of  stone  for  large  construc¬ 
tion  and  for  house  work  is  the  Medina  sandstone  from  the 
quarries  at  Holley,  Hulberton,  Albion  and  Medina.  For 
carved  work  the  softer  sandstones,  as  those  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  and  Ohio,  and  the  Connecticut  brownstone,  are  pre¬ 
ferred  on  account  of  their  cheapness. 

The  small  amount  of  granite  and  marble  used  is  a  nota¬ 
ble  fact.  Among  the  numerous  structures  of  Medina  sand¬ 
stone  the  more  prominent  and  public  buildings,  which  may 
be  referred  to  here,  are  the  following  :  the  United  States 
Government  building,  corner  of  North  Fitzhugh  and  Church 
streets,  completed  recently,  and  of  rock-face  ashlar,  in 
courses  with  trimmings  of  the  same  stone,  dressed  ;  the  First 
Baptist  church,  on  North  Fitzhugh  street;  Sibley  hall,  An¬ 
derson  hall,  and  the  new  hall  of  physics,  of  the  Rochester 
university  ;  St.  Patrick’s  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  Platt 
and  Frank  streets  ;  house  of  George  C.  Hollister,  East  ave¬ 
nue  ;  Commercial  National  bank  building,  and  the  Wilder 
building  fronts,  both  on  East  Main  street;  Trinity  Protes¬ 
tant  Episcopal  church,  corner  of  Jones  avenue  and  Frank 
street;  Western  House  of  Refuge;  Church  home,  on 
Mount  Hope  avenue;  and  the  new  restaurant  building  (base¬ 
ment  story)  of  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  rail¬ 
road  company.  The  red  sandstone  has  been  used  in  the 
above-mentioned  structures.  There  are  on  East  avenue 
several  other  large  and  costly  residences,  in  which  the  red 
Medina  sandstone  has  been  employed  with  much  taste. 
And  nearly  all  of  the  newer  houses  have  the  basements  of 
rock-face,  broken  course,  stone  work.  Associated  with  brick, 
the  H.  H.  Warner  house  is  a  fine  example  in  modified  Ro¬ 
manesque  style.  Of  the  gray  or  white  Medina  sandstone, 
the  new  St.  Michael’s  Roman  Catholic  church  (1888-89), 
corner  of  Clinton  and  Evergreen  streets,  is  a  large  and 
massive  structure,  with  walls  of  rock-face  broken  ashlar,  and 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


345 


trimmed  with  Ohio  sandstone.  This  stone  is  from  the 
Whitmore  quarries  at  Lockport.  The  First  Presbyterian 
church,  corner  of  Plymouth  and  Spring  streets,  is  another 
example  of  the  white  Medina  sandstone.  The  Warner  Astro, 
nomical  observatory,  also,  is  of  the  Lockport  white  sand¬ 
stone.  On  West  avenue  the  large  St.  Mary’s  hospital,  and 
a  large  and  costly  private  house,  are  constructed  of  gray 
Medina  sandstone.  In  the  latter  case  the  red  Medina  is 
used  for  the  basement  story. 

Sandstone  from  Warsaw  has  been  used  in  the  city  hall, 
(first  story)  built  in  1873  5  *n  the  Arcade  building,  East 
Main  street,  and  in  the  trimmings  of  the  high  school  build¬ 
ing.  The  upper  stories  of  the  city  hall  are  of  Medina  sand¬ 
stone.  The  exfoliation  and  pitting  of  the  Warsaw  stone  in 
the  city  hall  is  a  serious  defect,  and  an  illustration  of  an 
inferior  stone.  It  was  taken  from  an  old  quarry,  which  is 
now  abandoned.  Another  building  of  Warsaw  stone  is  the 
Smith  and  Perkins  block,  on  Exchange  street.  Little  Con¬ 
necticut  brownstone  is  seen  in  this  city.  The  Rochester 
Savings  bank,  corner  of  West  Main  and  South  Fitzhugh 
streets,  is  the  largest  and  most  imposing  architectural  ex¬ 
ample.  The  red  and  brown  sandstones  of  Longmeadow, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  lighter  red  stones,  especially,  are 
apparently  in  favor  with  architects  here.  The  Safe  Deposit 
building,  on  Exchange  street,  the  new  German  Insurance 
building,  corner  of  West  Main  street  and  Irving  .place  (first 
and  second  stories  and  trimmings)  and  the  Glenny  store, 
East  Main  street,  are  large  structures  with  sandstone  fronts. 
In  limestone  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River 
railroad  viaduct  is  a  large  and  massively  built  piece  of 
work.  The  stone  is  mainly  from  quarries  at  Union  Springs, 
with  a  little  red  Medina  sandstone.  The  fronts,  Nos. 
134-136  East  Main  street,  are  white  marble.  Of  foreign 
stone  the  most  notable  and  prominent  construction  is  the 
front  of  the  new,  tall  building  of  Ellwanger  and  Barry,  built 
of  Scotch  sandstone. 


44 


346 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Streets.  —  The  Medina  sandstone  is  the  favorite  for  street 
work.  Nearly  all  of  the  curbing  and  crosswalks  are  of  the 
red  or  spotted  sandstone,  and  it  is  admirably  adapted  to 
these  uses.  For  sidewalks,  also,,  it  is  used,  but  not  so  largely. 
Blue-stone  from  Pennsylvania  quarries,  sandstone  from  At¬ 
water,  on  Cayuga  lake,  Trumansburgh,  in  Tompkins  county, 
and  the  Ohio  sandstones  are  all  in  demand  for  flagging. 
Artificial  stone  is  also  coming  into  use  and  replacing  the 
Medina  stone  in  the  construction  of  sidewalks.  The  in¬ 
equalities  in  the  surface  of  the  smaller,  Medina  flagstones 
hold  little  pools  of  water,  and  it  is  not  as  dry  a  walk  as  the 
more  even  surfaces  of  blue-stone.  For  roadways,  the  Medina 
sandstone  block  pavement  is  laid  on  sixteen  and  one-half 
miles  in  length  of  streets  in  the  city  limits.*  The  stone 
laid  here,  as,  also,  in  Buffalo,  are  not  the  dressed  Medina 
paving  blocks,  but  the  less  expensive,  natural-face  blocks, 
costing  about  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  square  yard, 
and  do  not  represent  the  best  output  of  the  quarries  in  the 
Medina  sandstone  district.  It  wears  well,  however,  and  is 
not  as  slippery  as  granite  when  wet.  On  the  fine  residence 
streets,  as  East  avenue,  Lake  avenue,  West  avenue  and 
others  where  there  is  much  driving  for  pleasure,  asphalt  is 
being  laid  instead  of  stone.  The  total  aggregate  length  of 
stone  block  roadway  is  comparatively  below  that  of  other 
cities  in  the  state. 


Buffalo 

Buffalo  obtains  its  building  stone  from  local  quarries 
within  the  city  limits,  from  quarry  districts  in  the  western 
part  of  the  state,  and,  through  its  advantageous  situation 
on  the  lake,  and  low  rates  of  freight,  stones  from  Ohio 
and  Lake  Superior  region.  The  even-bedded,  gray  lime¬ 
stone  of  the  corniferous  formation  is  quarried  extensively, 
for  use  in  foundations  of  all  structures,  and  for  common 


*  Letter  of  Gilbert  Brady  &  Co.,  37  South  Fitzhugh  street,  Rochester,  January  3,  1890. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


347 


rubble-work.  It  is  hard,  dense  and  strong,  and  is  not 
dressed.  It  sells  in  the  city  at  six  dollars  per  cord.  The 
Williamsville  quarries,  ten  miles  north-east  of  the  city  af¬ 
ford  a  gray  limestone  for  cut  and  dimension  work.  On  ac¬ 
count  of  the  expenses  of  cartage  and  of  dressing,  its  use  is 
limited  to  trimming  brick  buildings,  and  for  steps  and  plat 
forms,  and  is  being  crowded  out  of  the  field,  it  once  held,  by 
the  more  cheaply  dressed  and  warmer-colored  sandstones. 
The  Medina  sandstone  formation  furnishes  the  greater  part 
of  the  building  stone  for  cut  and  dimension-work  in  this 
city.  And  the  quarries  at  Albion,  Holley,  Hulberton  and 
Medina  produce  nearly  all  that  is  used  here.  The  red  Me¬ 
dina  stone  is  seen  in  the  largest  and  most  expensive  struc¬ 
tures,  and  the  best  architectural  work,  and  it  is  used  both 
for  the  walls  and  trimmings  ;  and  many  of  the  large  busi¬ 
ness  buildings  are  of  red  brick  and  sandstone.  It  is  em¬ 
ployed  in  rock-face  and  in  fine-tooled  and  bush-hammered 
blocks,  for  sills,  caps,  lintels,  water-tables,  string  courses 
and  pediments,  and  for  basement  walls.  Its  red  color  com¬ 
bines  with  red  brick  to  produce  a  pleasing  effect.  On  Dela¬ 
ware  avenue,  Porter  avenue  and  North  street,  and  other 
streets,  it  has  been  used  extensively,  in  private  dwellings. 

The  gray  or  white  Medina  sandstone  was  formerly  much 
used,  but  it  has  been  neglected  of  late,  because  of  the  gen¬ 
eral  demand  and  preference  for  red  stone.  It  is  seen  in 
many  of  the  older  buildings. 

The  Ohio  sandstones,  also,  have  relatively  declined  in 
the  extent  used,  notwithstanding  their  lower  cost,  wherever 
there  is  much  carved-work  required.  For  trimmings  they 
have  had  an  extensive  use. 

Among  the  newer  kinds  of  stone  which  are  now  in  the  mar¬ 
ket  are  the  red  sandstone  from  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  the 
Granby  red  sandstone  and  the  sandstone  from  Neshoppen, 
Pennsylvania.  The  first-named  is  obtainable  in  large  blocks, 
and  is  easily  worked.  It  sells  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  cubic  foot. 


348 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


A  census  of  the  stone  buildings  in  the  city,  made  re¬ 
cently  and  for  this  report,  gives  the  following  statistics  : 


Stone  buildings  and  stone  fronts .  1 5 5 

Stone  sheds  and  smaller  buildings .  15 

Total .  170 


Inasmuch  as  all  buildings  in  part  of  stone  are  not  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  above  enumeration,  these  figures  fail  to  give 
a  correct  view  of  the  extent  to  which  stone  enters  in  con¬ 
struction  work  in  the  city. 

The  average  ruling  prices  for  stone  in  Buffalo,  are  re¬ 
ported  as  follows  : 


Limestone,  city  quarries,  per  cord .  $6  00 

Limestone,  Williamsville,  per  cubic  foot .  60 

Sandstone,  Medina,  per  cubic  foot .  85 

Sandstone,  Albion,  per  cubic  foot. .......  .  1  00 

Sandstone,  Ohio,  per  cubic  foot .  55 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  per  cubic  foot . $1-1  25 


The  Ted  Medina  sandstone  is  represented  by  many  of 
the  largest  and  most  costly  architectural  buildings  of 
the  city.  The  more  conspicuous  are  the  following :  St. 
Paul’s  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  at  the  intersection  of 
Erie,  Main  and  Church  streets,  an  imposing  edifice  whose 
walls  are  dressed  stone,  in  broken  courses  and  trimmings  of 
fine-tooled  stone ;  they  were  not  impaired  seriously  by  the 
fire  which  consumed  all  the  combustible  interior  and  roof, 
two  years  ago.  The  Young  Men’s  Association  library  build¬ 
ing,  of  sandstone  from  the  Albion  quarries,  with  brick  and 
terra-cotta — a  pleasing  combination  of  material  and  blen¬ 
ding  of  color.  The  Buffalo  City  Savings  bank,  and  the 
Western  Savings  bank,  on  the  west  side  of  the  square,  and 
opposite  the  library,  are  of  red  sandstone  ;  the  former  from 
the  Albion  quarries.  In  the  latter  building,  the  hammer- 
pointed  stone  in  regular  courses,  has  rather  a  dingy  aspect 
owing  to  the  accumulation  of  soot  from  bituminous  coal 
fires. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


349 


The  German  Young  Men’s  Association  building,  on  Main 
street,  built  in  1886,  a  large  and  ornate  structure,  shows  the 
Albion  stone  with  Connecticut  brownstone  and  brick  walls 
above  the  first  story.  The  steps  are  notable  examples  of 
even-grained  stone,  and  of  extraordinary  length.  Another 
building  near  the  last  named,  is  the  St.  Louis  Roman 
Catholic  church,  whose  walls  are  rock-face  ashlar  work,  with 
trimmings  of  the  same  stone,  fine-tooled.  Trinity  Protes¬ 
tant  Episcopal  church,  on  Delaware  avenue,  built  in  1884, 
of  Albion  sandstone,  is  remarkable  for  its  beautiful,  light-red 
and  warm  shade  of  color,  as  contrasted  with  the  adjoining 
old  church  edifice,  which  is  of  gray  limestone.  The  Dela¬ 
ware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  church  (1874),  is  a  large 
and  stately  building  of  dark-red  Medina  sandstone.  The 
Iroquois  hotel  has  its  trimmings  of  fine-tooled  stone  and 
first  story  piers  of  rock-face  blocks  of  red  sandstone  from 
Hulberton.  The  Young  Women’s  Christian  Association 
building,  at  Niagara  and  Genesee  streets,  the  Courier  build¬ 
ing,  on  Main  street,  the  new  municipal  building,  the  Star 
theater,  Genesee  and  Pearl  streets,  are  other  examples  of 
red  Medina  sandstone.  In  the  new  Broezel  building,  Seneca 
street,  the  sandstone  from  the  Holley  quarries  was  used,  with 
red  brick.  The  new  synagogue,  in  course  of  erection,  has 
Granby  brownstone  as  trimming  with  the  Medina  sandstone. 
The  Niagara  hotel,  the  new  chapel  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  in  the  north-west  quarter,  and  the  Griffin  house  on 
Summer  street,  are  notable  representatives  of  the  Albion 
stone.  On  Delaware  avenue,  Bishop  Ryan’s  residence  and 
the  chapel  adjacent ;  the  Pardee  house,  and  the  Gratwick 
house,  are  costly  structures  of  red  Medina  sandstone.  In 
the  Pardee  house  the  rock-face  stone  gives  a  remarkably 
massive  and  pleasing  effect.  The  Hulberton  quarries  are 
represented  in  the  chapel,  corner  of  North  street  and  Lin- 
wood  avenue.  The  State  asylum  and  St.  Michael’s  Roman 
Catholic  church,  the  latter  on  Washington  street,  are  older 


350 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


buildings  of  red  Medina  sandstone,  and  show  the  effect  of 
age  in  their  walls  darkened  by  the  smoke  of  years. 

The  Central  Presbyterian  church,  on  Genesee  street,  is 
built  of  the  gray  Medina  sandstone.  The  Langdon  house, 
Delaware  avenue,  is  a  fine  architectural  effect  in  white 
Medina  sandstone,  from  Lockport  quarries.  In  the  business 
quarters  there  are  several  old  buildings  of  the  gray  Medina 
sandstone.  St.  John’s  church,  Washington  and  Swan  streets, 
is  one  of  the  older  buildings  of  gray  limestone,  and  its  black 
walls  show  the  objection  to  light-colored  stone  in  a  city  where 
bituminous  coal  is  used.  St.  Joseph’s  Roman  Catholic  cathe¬ 
dral,  Franklin  and  West  Swan,  is  another  old  and  massive 
structure  in  which  the  gray  limestone  is  trimmed  with  the 
Ohio  sandstone.  St.  Ann’s  Roman  Catholic  church,  Broad¬ 
way  and  Emslie  street,  is  of  Lockport  limestone.  The 
county  jail,  Calvary  Presbyterian  church,  on  Delaware  ave¬ 
nue,  and  the  houses,  No.  175  North  and  No.  245  Porter 
avenue,  are  other  examples  of  gray  limestone  construction. 

Although  the  Ohio  sandstones  have  been  used  so  much 
in  trimmings  with  other  stones,  there  are  no  large  buildings, 
except  the  United  States  custom  house  and  post-office, 
built  entirely  of  Ohio  stone.  Comparatively  little  Connecti¬ 
cut  brownstone  is  seen.  The  most  important  structure  is 
that  of  the  Bank  of  Erie  county,  on  the  south-west  corner 
of  Main  and  Court  streets.  The  uniform  shade  of  color 
in  it  is  noticeable,  as  contrasted  with  the  dark-red  and 
slightly  variegated  appearance  of  the  Medina  sandstone  in 
the  Western  Savings  bank  building  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  street. 

The  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  red  sandstone  appears  in  the 
house  of  ex-Mayor  Becker,  No.  543  Delaware  avenue. 
Granite,  from  Maine,  is  represented  by  the  massive  city  and 
county  hall,  and  the  gray  stone  of  this  building,  erected  in 
1876,  begins  to  look  dingy. 

Streets.  —  The  streets  are  generally  paved,  either  with 
Medina  blocks  or  asphalt  pavement.  The  average  price  at 


ON  THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  CITIES 


351 


which  the  sandstone  block  pavement  is  put  down  is  two  dollars 
per  square  yard  ;  the  asphalt  costs  three  dollars.  The  total 
aggregate  length  of  stone  pavement,  according  to  the 
mayor’s  report,  on  January  1,  1889,  was  127.14  miles.  In 
the  sidewalks  some  Ohio  sandstone  and  some  blue-stone 
from  Pennsylvania  have  been  used,  but  the  Medina  sand¬ 
stone  predominates.  On  the  older  walks,  three  lines  of 
stones,  which  are  three  feet  by  two  feet,  are  laid,  making 
a  walk  six  feet  wide.  Larger  flagstones,  and,  generally, 
thicker  stone,  with  smooth  surfaces,  are  now  put  down.  The 
total  length  of  paved  sidewalk  is  estimated  at  two  hundred 
miles,  of  average  width  of  five  feet.  * 


Lockport 

Lockport  is  a  small  city  of  stone.  The  United  States 
census  of  1880  reported  that  seven  and  five  tenths  per  cent 
of  its  buildings  were  all-stone,  and  four  per  cent  partly  of 
stone.  A  count  made  for  this  report  gives  the  following 
statistics  : 


All-stone  buildings .  266 

Stone  fronts  and  rears .  67 


Total . . . .  333 

I  «  - 


A  peculiarity  practiced  here  in  construction  is  in  putting 
brick  fronts  with  stone  side  and  rear  walls,  f 

Formerly  the  gray  and  the  mottled,  red  and  gray  Medina 
sandstones,  from  quarries  north  of  the  place,  were  much 
used  in  building,  and  many  of  the  older  structures  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city,  are  of  this  sandstone.  These 
quarries  were  opened  first  in  1824.  The  gray  limestone  of 
the  Niagara  period,  which  runs  across  the  city  in  a  bold 
ledge,  is  known  from  the  quarries  here  as  Lockport  gray 

*  Letter  of  George  E.  Mann,  City  Engineer. 

f  The  total  number  of  all-stone  and  part  stone  buildings  may  be  put  safely  at  340, 
as  some  of  the  latter  class  may  have  escaped  notice. 

21 


352 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


limestone.  It  has  had  a  larger  use  than  the  sandstone.  The 
fine  series  of  locks  on  the  Erie  canal,  and  the  New  York 
Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  company’s  viaduct  are 
constructed  of  this  stone.  Four  church  buildings  and  many 
dwelling-houses  and  stores  are  of  this  limestone.  It 
has  been  much  used  in  trimming  brick  fronts.  The  excel¬ 
lence,  durability  and  cheapness  of  the  stone  of  these  local 
quarries  have  met  the  demand  for  stone,  and  hence  very 
little  sandstone  or  other  stone  from  outside  has  been  em¬ 
ployed.  A  noteworthy  exception  is  the  Niagara  county 
court  house,  of  Ohio  sandstone. 

For  street-work  in  curbing  and  crosswalks  the  limestone 
answers  well.  Medina  sandstone  is  used  both  for  sidewalks 
and  for  roadways.  According  to  the  report  of  the  city  sur¬ 
veyor,  there  are  four  miles  of  streets  paved  with  the  Medina 
sandstone.* 


*  Letter  of  Julius  Frensee,  City  Surveyor,  January  7,  1890. 


PHYSICAL  TESTS  OF  BUILDING  STONES 


353 


V. 

PHYSICAL  TESTS  AND  CHEMICAL  EXAMINATIONS 

OF  BUILDING  STONES. 

A  series  of  physical  tests  of  the  representative  building 
stones  of  the  state  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  ascer¬ 
taining  what  their  comparative  values  were  for  durable  con¬ 
struction  work.  Chemical  determinations  were  made  of 
the  amounts  of  certain  constituents,  which  were  supposed 
to  be  injurious  or  which  were  indicative  of  a  composition 
liable  to  attack,  on  long-continued  exposure  to  atmospheric 
agencies,  and,  also,  of  those  which,  by  their  presence  in  cer¬ 
tain  associations,  might  explain  the  structure  of  the  stone 
as  determined  by  its  cementing  or  binding  material. 

The  stones  were  selected  with  especial  reference  to  their 
value  and  the  extent  to  which  they  were  used  in  building 
and  general  constructive  work.  So  far  as  possible,  all  the 
great  classes  of  stone  and  the  larger  quarry  districts  of  the 
state  are  represented.  The  granites  of  Grindstone  island, 
Jefferson  county,  and  of  Keeseville,  Essex  county,  repre¬ 
sent  the  developed  quarries  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state.  The  marbles  of  Tuckahoe  and  Pleasantville  are 
from  the  Westchester  marble  district.  The  Glens  Falls, 
Plattsburgh  and  Gouverneur  stones  represent  the  marbles 
of  the  northern  counties,  so  far  as  they  are  worked  to  ex¬ 
tent  ;  the  calciferous  sandrock  and  magnesian  limestone  are 
represented  by  the  Sandy  Hill  limestone;  the  limestones  of 
the  Mohawk  valley  are  represented  by  those  from  Tribes 
Hill,  Canajoharie  and  Prospect ;  the  St.  Lawrence  valley 
by  the  Chaumont  stone  ;  the  Onondaga  gray  limestone  by 
a  specimen  from  the  Reservation  quarries ;  the  eastern 
Upper  Helderberg  formation  by  the  Cobleskill  stone  ;  the 
Upper  Helderberg  limestones  of  the  western-central  coun- 


354 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


ties  by  the  Auburn  and  Union  Springs  stones  ;  the  corni- 
ferous  limestone  by  the  Williamsville  quarry  specimen. 

The  Potsdam  sandstone  is  represented  by  the  specimen 
of  the  Potsdam  Red  Sandstone  Company;  the  Hudson 
river  blue-stone  by  the  Bigelow  Blue  Stone  company’s 
specimen,  from  quarries  near  Malden,  and  by  the  Oxford 
blue  sandstone ;  the  Medina  sandstone  by  the  stones  from 
Albion  and  Hulberton  ;  the  eastern  extension  of  the  same 
formation,  by  the  Oswego  P'alls  sandstone  ;  the  sandstones 
of  the  Portage  geologic  epoch,  by  the  Portage  and  Warsaw 
sandstones ;  the  Chemung,  by  the  Olean  sandstone. 

For  the  purpose  of  comparison  with  extra-limital  stones, 
which  are  used  extensively  in  the  cities  of  the  state,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  representative  specimens  were  included  in  the  series  : 
granite,  Hallowed,  Maine  ;  limestones,  oolitic,  from  Indiana 
and  Kentucky  ;  fine-grained  and  coarse-grained  brown  sand¬ 
stones,  from  the  large  quarries  at  Portland,  Connecticut ; 
the  Kibbe,  Maynard  and  Worcester  sandstones,  from  East 
Longmeadow,  Massachusetts  ;  Ohio  sandstone,  from  Berea, 
in  that  state;  Lake  Superior  red  sandstone,  from  Portage, 
Michigan;  Belleville  sandstone  (freestone),  New  Jersey; 
Potomac  red  sandstone,  from  Bristow,  Virginia  ;  and  Nova 
Scotia  sandstone.*  As  far  as  possible,  the  stone  of  the 
quarries  selected  was,  in  nearly  all  cases,  above  the  average 
in  quality.  The  comparison  is,  therefore,  between  the  best 
representatives  or  types  of  the  several  kinds  and  quarry  dis¬ 
tricts. 

The  chemical  work  and  the  physical  tests  were  made 
in  accordance  with  my  direction,  at  the  laboratory  of  the 
Rutgers  College  Scientific  School,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J., 
by  F.  A.  Wilber,  professor  of  analytical  chemistry. 

*The  specimens  of  Massachusetts  sandstone  were  kindly  furnished  by  Messrs. 
Norcross  Brothers,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts;  the  Connecticut  sandstones,  by  the 
Brainerd  Quarry  Company,  of  Portland,  Connecticut;  those  from  Berea,  Ohio,  Port¬ 
age,  Lake  Superior,  Belleville,  New  Jersey,  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  limestones  from 
Kentucky  and  Indiana,  by  R.  Gill  &  Sons,  foot  of  East  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  street, 
New  York. 


PHYSICAL  TESTS  OF  BUILDING  STONES 


355 


Tests  of  compressive  and  tensile  strength  were  not  made 
of  these  specimens,  inasmuch  as  data  of  this  kind  are  to  be 
had  in  the  case  of  nearly  all  of  the  varieties  of  stone  in  this 
series.  Besides,  the  importance  of  such  tests  of  strength  has 
been  overestimated.  All  of  the  better  quarry  stone  of  the 
state  is  strong  enough  for  the  ordinary  construction,  as  wall 
work.  Only  in  exceptional  cases  is  greater  strength 
requisite,  as  in  large  arches  where  the  thrust  is  severe, 
and  in  columns  and  piers  supporting  a  great  weight.* 

As  has  been  well  said,  “  the  problem  is  not  what  will  a 
selected  and  carefully  prepared  sample  of  the  stone  bear  to¬ 
day,  but  what  will  it  bear  after  many  seasons’  exposure  to 
heat  and  frost.  For  all  ordinary  purposes  of  construction 
the  excess  of  strength  of  any  stone  over  1 5,000  pounds  per 
square  inch  is  of  little  value  excepting  so  far  as  it  denotes 
density,  and  hence  greater  resistance  to  atmospheric  in¬ 
fluences.”  f 

*  The  compression  in  the  Washington  monument,  a  column  600  feet  in  height, 
is  18^  tons  per  square  foot ,  whereas  the  strength  of  the  marble  used ,  is  517  tons,  or  less 
than  the  resistance  of  the  zveaker  stones.  Julien,  U.  S.  Tenth  Census,  tenth  volume, 
P-  359- 

f  George  P.  Merrill,  hand-book  and  catalogue  of  collection  of  building  and  orna¬ 
mental  stones,  in  the  United  States  National  museum.  Rep.  Smithsonian  institution, 
i885-’86,  part  II,  page  490. 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


356 


REPORT  OF  PROF.  FRANCIS  A.  WILBER. 


Prof.  John  C.  Smock,  State  Museum,  Albany ,  N.  V.  : 

Dear  Sir  : — Following-  your  instructions  I  visited,  during  July  and  August, 
1889,  all  the  quarry  districts  of  the  state  of  New  York  designated  by  you,  and 
collected  specimens  of  the  different  varieties  of  building  stone  found  in  them. 
The  samples,  reported  upon  later,  were,  with  two  exceptions,  taken  either  by 
the  quarry  owners  or  their  foremen,  or  by  dealers  who  handled  large  amounts 
of  the  particular  stone.  The  samples  for  examination  were  prepared,  after 
reaching  my  laboratory,  by  sawing  or  cutting  small  blocks,  as  nearly  cubical 
as  possible.  All  prepared  samples  were  carefully  examined,  before  using 
them,  in  order  to  see  that  no  small  portions  had  been  started  from  them 
during  preparation,  the  subsequent  loss  of  which  might  have  vitiated  the 
results  obtained. 

It  should  also  be  stated  that  quarry-owners  were  specially  requested  to 
select  the  best  possible  specimens  of  stone  from  their  respective  quarries, 
and,  with  two  exceptions,  all  samples  taken  were  from  blocks  which  had 
been  quarried  for  some  time. 

In  addition  to  the  specimens  collected  in  the  state  of  New  York,  I  received 
from  you  samples  of  a  number  of  the  leading  building  stones  from  localities 
outside  the  state.  They  were  subjected  to  treatment  exactly  similar  to  that 
given  those  collected  by  me. 

The  tests  made  were  uniform  in  every  respect.  All  the  limestones  and 
marbles  were  subjected  to  a  partial  chemical  analysis,  to  determine  their 
calcium-magnesium  ratio,  and  the  corresponding  amounts  of  calcium  and 
magnesium  carbonates  computed.  The  siliceous  residues,  in  each,  when 
treated  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  were  also  determined.  The  only  chemi¬ 
cal  work  done  upon  the  sandstones,  was  the  determination  of  the  amount  of 
iron  contained  in  each,  and  its  state  of  oxidation.  The  results  obtained  in 
the  chemical  work  are  given  in  the  accompanying  table,  in  columns  7,  8,  9, 
10,  11,12  and  13. 

The  following  comparative  physical  examinations  were  made,  viz.: 

1.  Determination  of  the  specific  gravity. 

2.  Determination  of  the  percentage  of  water  absorbed  by  the  dry  stone. 

3.  Determination  of  the  effect  of  continued  action  of  carbonic  acid  gas  on 
the  wet  samples. 

4.  Determination  of  the  effect  of  continued  action  of  sulphurous  acid  gas 
on  the  wet  samples. 

5.  Determination  of  the  effect  produced  upon  the  samples  by  dilute  sul¬ 
phuric  acid . 

6.  Observation  of  the  effect  upon  the  samples  produced  by  sudden  and 
repeated  changes  of  temperature. 


REPORT  OF  PROF.  FRANCIS  A.  WILBER 


35 ; 


7.  Observation  of  the  effect  upon  the  samples  of  high  temperature  with 
sudden  cooling. 

The  results  of  these  examinations  appear  in  the  table  in  columns  5,  14-17- 
20,  22,  23,  24. 

Description  of  the  methods  used  in  the  above  physical  examinations. 

1.  Specific  gravity. —  This  was  determined  by  weighing  the  specimens- 
previously  dried,  to  a  constant  weight  at  a  temperature  of  2i2p  F.,  then  im¬ 
mersing  them  in  cold  water,  distilled,  freed  from  air  by  boiling.  The  vessel 
containing  the  specimens  was  placed  in  the  receiver  of  an  air-pump,  and  a 
partial  exhaustion  of  the  air  of  the  receiver  very  soon  allowed  the  water  to 
completely  saturate  the  specimens.  They  were  then  weighed  in  water  and 
the  specific  gravity  computed  in  the  usual  manner. 

Weight  of  dry  specimen  in  air 

Specific  gravity  = - — 

Weight  of  dry  specimen  in  air —  Weight  of  specimen  in  water 

The  weighings  were  made  upon  a  Becker’s  analytical  balance,  and  the  sam¬ 
ples  used  weighed  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  grams.  The  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  of  each  stone  was  computed  from  the  obtained  specific  gravities,  and 
the  results  will  be  found  in  column  6  of  the  table. 

2.  Determination  of  the  percentage  of  water  absorbed  by  the  dry  sample. — 
Specimens  weighing  about  fifty  grams  were  used.  They  were  dried  in  an 
air-bath  to  a  constant  weight,  at  21 20  F.,  and  were  then  immersed  in  cold 
(previously  boiled)  distilled  water,  and  after  complete  saturation  were  re¬ 
moved,  one  by  one,  from  the  water,  their  surfaces  quickly  dried  with  blot¬ 
ting-paper,  and  were  again  weighed.  The  percentage  gained  in  weight  by 
the  saturated  sample  was  then  computed. 

Weight  of  wet  sample  —  Weight  of  dry  sample 
Per  cent  gained  =  — — - - X  100. 

Weight  of  dry  sample 

See  column  14. 

3.  Determination  of  the  effect  of  continued  action  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
upon  the  wet  samples.— The  water-saturated  samples  used  in  determining 
the  per  cent  of  water  absorption  were  put  upon  a  perforated  shelf  under  a 
large  bell-jar.  The  bell-jar  was  placed  in  a  shallow  pan,  and  enough  water 
poured  into  the  pan  to  make  a  water-seal  for  the  bell-jar.  Inlet  and  exit- 
tubes  were  introduced  into  it  and  a  stream  of  washed  carbonic  acid  gas  passed 
into  the  jar  until  all  air  was  expelled.  The  openings  were  then  closed  and 
the  contents  allowed  to  stand  three  days  at  a  temperature  of  about  70°  F. 
Carbonic  acid  gas  was  again  passed  in,  and  this  operation  was  repeated,  at 
intervals,  during  the  fifty-two  days  of  the  continuance  of  the  test.  The  sam¬ 
ples  were  then  removed  and  soaked  for  four  days  in  distilled  water,  and 
were  afterward  dried  in  an  air  bath,  at  a  temperature  of  212°  F.,  to  constant 
weight.  The  per  cent  of  loss  was  calculated. 

Weight  of  dry  sample  before  treatment — Weight  of  dry  sample  after  treatment 
- - -  X  IOO. 


Per  cent  loss  = 


Weight  of  dry  sample  before  treatment 


358 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


There  was  no  perceptible  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  samples  after 
treatment. 

The  loss  per  cent  appears  in  column  17. 

4.  Determination  of#the  effect  of  continued  action  of  sulphurous  acid  gas 
upon  the  wet  samples. —  The  weight  of  specimens  used  was  about  fifty  grams 
each.  The  treatment  in  this  test  was  similar  in  all  details  to  the  preceding 
one,  save  that  sulphurous  acid  gas  was  used  instead  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 
The  exposure  in  this  test  was  for  thirty-one  days. 

5.  Determination  of  the  effects  produced  upon  the  samples  by  treatment 
with  dilute  sulphuric  acid. —  Small  cubes,  three-fourths  of  an  inch  on  a  side, 
were  used  for  this  test.  The  samples  were  dried  in  a  water  bath  at  2120  F., 
to  a  constant  weight.  They  were  then  placed  upon  a  perforated  support 
and  immersed  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  The  acid  solution  contained  one  per 
cent  of  sulphuric  acid,  H2SO4,  and  the  volume  used  at  once  was  two  gallons. 
After  an  immersion  of  forty  hours  the  acid  was  drawn  off  and  replaced  by  a 
fresh  supply.  This  remained  upon  the  samples  twenty-four  hours,  when  it 
was  run  off  and  a  third  fresh  portion  added,  which  was  allowed  to  remain 
eight  hours.  It  was  then  drawn  off  and  a  gentle  stream  of  clear  water  passed 
through  the  vessel  for  some  time,  until  the  samples  were  entirely  cleansed 
from  the  effects  of  the  solvent  action  of  the  acid.  They  were  then  carefully 
removed  to  the  water  bath  and  dried  at  2120  F.,  to  a  constant  weight. 

Weight  of  sample  before  treatment —  Weight  of  sample  after  treatment 

Per  cent  of  loss  = - - X  100. 

Weight  of  sample  before  treatment 


The  comparative  effects  of  this  test  will  be  found  in  column  22  of  the 
table. 

6.  Determination  of  the  effects  produced  by  repeated  alternate  freezing 
and  thawing. — The  specimens  used  for  this  test  weighed  from  three  hundred 
to  four  hundred  grams.  They  were  saturated  with  moisture  and  then  placed 
in  a  closed  vessel,  which  was  surrounded  with  a  freezing  mixture  of  ice  and 
salt.  After  an  exposure  of  about  twelve  hours  the  vessel  was  opened  and  the 
samples  found  frozen  solid.  They  were  removed,  carefully  examined  to  dis¬ 
cover  any  flaws  or  cracks,  and  at  once  put  into  an  air-bath  at  2120  F.  This 
treatment  was  continued  about  twelve  hours  when  the  samples  were  removed 
and  at  once  put  in  water  of  a  temperature  of  40°  F.  After  cooling  they  were 
again  examined  for  checks  or  flaws  and  the  preceding  treatment  was  repeated. 
Seven  successive  treatments  were  made  the  samples  being  examined  after 
each  treatment.  Results  of  this  test  are  in  column  23. 

7.  Effects  produced  in  the  samples  by  high  heat  and  subsequent  rapid 
cooling.-  -  Small  cubes  of  the  dry  samples  were  used  for  this  test.  They  were 
closely  packed  in  the  closed  muffle  of  a  Hoskins  assay  furnace.  A  copper 
rod  was  inserted  in  the  opening  at  the  top  of  the  muffle  and  its  lower  ex¬ 
tremity  brought  to  the  center  of  the  mass  of  cubes,  an  opening  having  been 
left  for  the  purpose.  This  lower  end  could  be  seen  from  above  without 
removal  of  the  rod.  Heat  was  then  applied  and  the  blast  gradually  increased 
until  an  intense  heat  was  produced.  The  copper  rod  was  closely  observed 


TABLE 


OF  COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  AND  CHEMICAL  TESTS  OF  SOME  REPRESENTATIVE  BUILDING  STONE. 


GRANITES. 


1  1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

O 

7 

§ 

!) 

10 

IB 

1*2 

13 

1 1 

15 

10 

17 

1$ 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

.nalytical  number. 

Kind  of  stone. 

NAME  OF  QUARRY. 

Locality  of  quarry. 

Specific  gravity. 

© 

o 

o 

03 

"3 

a 

a  o 

*S  «> 

5? 

Per  cent  insoluble  in  di¬ 
lute  hydrochloric  acid. 

Per  cent  of  lime 

Ca  O. 

Equivalent  amount  of 
calcium  carbonate. 

Per  cent  of  magnesia 

Mg  O. 

O 

<8 

a 

g  o 
a  a 
o  u 

e4 

a  7 
©  © 

11 

Is 

© 

tj 

o 

o 

a 

JJ 

C 

©6 

Pi 

© 

g 

"R 

o 

.2 

© 

o  w- 

cO 

o  w 

Pi 

Per  cent  of  water  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  dry  stone. 

Pounds  of  water  ab¬ 

sorbed  per  cubic  foot. 

d  o 

2  a 
t  o 
(S ,? 

=  5 
‘3  ? 

Hi 

S-3  610 

O  ©*0 

£  cJ  d 

Pi 

Per  cent  of  loss  when 
acted  on  by  carbonic 
acid  gas. 

Pounds  per  cu.  ft.  gained 
or  lost  under  treatment  1 
with  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Per  cent  of  gain  when 

acted  upon  by  sulphur¬ 

ous  acid  gas. 

Per  cent  of  loss  when 

acted  upon  by  sulphur¬ 

ous  acid  gas. 

'  Pounds  per  cu.  ft.  gained 

or  lost  under  treatment 

with  sulph’us  acid  gas. 

Per  cent  of  loss  when 

treated  with  one  per 

cent,  solution  of  sul¬ 

phuric  acid. 

Effect  upon  the  stone  of  repeated  and  rapid  changes  of  temperature. 

3a°  F  to  212°  F. 

Effect  upon  the  stone  of  high  temperature  with  quick  cooling.  Heat  used,  melting  point  of  copper. 

1200°  F  to  1400°  F. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

C.  2074  .  . 
C.  2075  . . . 
C.  2190(a). 
C.  2190(b). 
C.  2190(c). 

Granite . 

Granite . 

Forsythe’s .  . 

Au  Sable  Granite  Works. . . 

Grindstone  Islnnd,  St.  Lawrence  Co . 

Keeseville,  Essex  Co . 

TTallowell,  Maine . 

Hallowell,  Maine . 

|  Hallowell,  Maine . 

2.7139 

2.7551 

2  6519 

2 . 6543 
2.6556 

169.13 

171.69 

165.27 

165.39 

165.52 

. 

1.550 

0.066 

0.410 

0.370 

0.340 

2.62 

0.11 

0.68 

0.62 

0.56 

0.006 
0.002 
0.029 
ft  .021 

0.010 

0.003 

0.04S 

0 . 035 

0.007 

0.017 

0.024 

0.012 

0.029 

0.039 

0.13 

0.l>6 

0.08 

Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . 
Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 

Vitrified  somewhat,  color  destroyed,  strength  gone;  crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  to  a  brownish  red,  strength  greatly  impaired. 

Color  changed  to  dirty  pale  red,  strength  gone;  crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Granite . 

|  Granite . . 

. 

C.  1973  ...  I  Marble 
C.  2068  . .  .1  Marble 
C.  2028  ...  |  Marble 
C.  1979  . . .  I  Marble 


New  York  Quarry  Co . 

Snow  flake  Marble  Co . 

Finch  &  Pruyn . 

St.  Lawrence  Marble  Co . 


Tuckalioe,  Westchester  Co. .  . . 
Pleasantville,  Westchester  Co.. 

Glens  Falls. . 

Gouverneur,  St.  Lawrence  Co. . 


2.8679 

178.72 

0.91 

30.63 

54.69 

.  20.77  | 

48.62 

. 1  0.140 

2.8705 

178.88 

0.29 

30.69 

54.80 

20.53 

43.11 

.  0.150 

2.7184 

169.41 

30.33 

30.18 

53.90 

0.94 

14.57 

. 1  o.uao 

2.7561 

171.76 

1.89 

51.57 

92.09 

3.29  1 

6.90 

. 1  0.160 

0.25 

0.27 

0.14 

0.27 


MARBLES. 


0.004  1 

0.007 

.  1  0.250 

0.005  j 

0.009 

.  |  0.150 

0.007  | 

0.012 

. 1  0.120 

0.017  1 

0.029 

. !  0.150 

5.25 

6.63 
2.56 

2.63 


Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  . 


Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  ■ 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . .  1 


Unchanged 

Unchanged 

Unchanged 

Unchanged 


Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . . 


Unchanged . 

Slight  checks  .... 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . I 


Unchanged . 

Nothing  farther. . .  . 

Unchanged . 

|  Unchanged  . 


Unchanged . 

Nothing  farther . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 


Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 


crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch. 


C.  1976  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  1974  .  . . 

Limestoue . 

C.  2022  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2 ft 2 ft 

Limestone . 

C.  2005  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2073  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2019  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2069  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2070  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  1975  . . . 

Limestone . 

C.  2102  . .  . 

Limestone . 

C.  2312  .’  ’ . 

Limestone  (oolitic) 

C.  2313  . . . 

Limestone  (oolitic) 

Sandy  Hill  Quarry  Co . 

Burlington  Manufacturing  C 

Hurst  &  Son . 

A.  C.  &  C.  H.  Shafer . 

Evan  S.  Thomas . 

Adams  Bros . 

Wm.  Reilly . 

Hughes  Bros . 

P.  Smith . 

Goodrich's  quarry . 

D.  &  H.  Fogelsonger. . 


Sandy  Hill.  Washington  Co  ... .  . 

2.7641 

172.26 

2.735 

Plattsburgh,  Clinton  Co .  ... 

2.7096 

168.79 

1.55 

Tribes  Hill,  Montgomery  Co  .  . . 

2.7181 

169.39 

2.48 

Canajoliarie,  Montgomery  Co . 

2.7267 

169.93 

10.06 

Prospect,  Oneida  (.'0 . 

2.7250 

169.82 

2.63 

Chauuiont,  Jefferson  Co .  . 

2.7153 

169.36 

1.58 

Coble  skill,  Schoharie  C'o . 

2.7139 

169.13 

2.26 

Onondaga  Reservation.  Onondaga  Co - 

2.7086 

168.63 

1.52 

Union  Springs,  Cayuga  Co. .  . 

Auburn,  Cayuga  Co.  . 

2.7105 

168.92 

5.15  I 

2.7230 

169.69 

2.33 

Williamsville.  Erie  Co . 

2.7079 

168.52 

3.82 

Bowling  Green,  Kentucky . 

2.6961 

i 68.02 

i  .24 

Indiana . 

2.6023 

162.17 

0.34 

28.54 

50.97 

9.71 

20.38 

.  0.140 

0.24 

58.13 

94.87 

0.90 

1.89 

. I  0.145 

0.24 

53.57 

95.68 

.  0.140 

0.24 

46.92 

83.72 

1.67 

’’*351 

.  0.070 

0. 14 

53.10 

94.82 

0.79 

1.66 

.  0.140 

0.24 

49.86 

89.03 

0.80 

1.68 

. 1  0.070 

0.12 

53.86 

96.18 

0.12 

0.25 

.  0.109 

0.19 

53.76 

96.00 

0.00 

1.26 

. ;  0.140 

0.24 

51.52 

92.00 

0.80 

1.68 

. 1.120 

1.89 

52.97 

94.59 

1.04 

2.18 

. 1  0.120 

0.20 

52.33 

93.44 

0.70 

1.47 

.  I  0.160 

0.27 

54.71" 

97.69 

0.18 

”0.37 

'•’.■•••I  c-n’ 

10.36 

53.24 

95.07 

0.41 

0.86  1 . 

.  1  4.52 

7.33 

LIMESTONES. 


0.012 

0.021 

0.150 

0.26 

2.51 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

0.023 

0.039 

0.190 

0.32 

2.20 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

0 . 028 

0.047 

0.160 

0.31 

3.03 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . 

0.012 

0.020 

0.160 

0.27 

2.62 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . 

0.017 

0.029 

0.150 

0.25 

2.97 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

0 . 008 

0.014 

0.091 

0.15 

2.95 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

0.010 

0.017 

0.130 

0.22 

2.58 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

0.021 

0.035 

0.201 

0.24 

2.84 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

0.011 

0.019 

0.082 

0.14 

3.77 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

0  010 

0.017 

0.140 

0.24 

2.79 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

0.060 

0.010 

0.250 

0.42 

2.97 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged . 

0.062 

*6.164 

6.100 

0.269 

5.66 

. 

0.087 

0.141 

0  019 

0.031 

5.83 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged .  ... 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  ...  . 

Unchanged . 

Slight  flaw . . 

Unchanged  . 


Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
U nchanged 


Much  calcined; 
Fully  calcined: 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined: 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 
Fully  calcined; 


crumbled  with  a  blow, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch, 
crumbled  to  the  touch. 


Unchanged 


Fully  calcined;  strength  entirely  gone. 
Fully  calcined;  strength  entirely  gone. 


SANDSTONES. 


C.  2078  . . . 
C.  2079  . . . 
C.  2076  . . 
C.  2021  . . . 
C.  2086  . . . 
C.  2084  . . . 
C.  2225(a). 
C.  2225(b). 
C.  2225(c) . 
C.  2060  . . . 

<  J.  2081 . . . 
C.  2087  . . . 
C.  2185(a). 
C.  2185(b) . 
C.  2ls-V 
C.  21$6fn,. 
r.  2186  b). 
C.  2186(c) . 
C.  2186(d). 
C.  2187(a). 
C.  2187(b). 
C.  2187(c) . 
C.  2187(d). 
(’.  2188  a 
C.  2188(b). 
C.  2189(a). 
C.  2189(b). 
C.  2189(c) . 
C.  2317  .. . 
C.  2315  . . . 
C.  2316  ... 
C.  2314  . . . 
C.  2183(a). 
C.  2183(b). 
C.  2183(c) . 

C.  2318  . . . 


Sandstone . 

Hudson  river  blue-stone  .  . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone .  ; 

Sandstone  . . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . i 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

landstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . . 

Sandstone  (fine-grained). . . 

1  Sandstone  (fine-grained). . 

1  Sandstone  (coarse-grained). 

,  Sandstone  (coarse-grained). 

|  Sandstone  (coarse-grained). 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone  (Portage  red)  . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Sandstone . 

Red  roofing-slate . . 


Potsdam  Red  Sandstone  Co . 

Bigelow  Blue-stone  Co . 

Oxford  Blue-stone  Co . 

Albert  Shear  &  Co . 

Hughes  Bros . 

Gilbert  Brady  &  Co . 

M.  Scanlon .  . 

M.  Scanlon . 

M.  Scanlon .  . 

Portage  Blue-stone  Co . 

Warsaw  Blue-stone  Co . 

Olean  Blue-stone  Co . 

Kibbe  .  . 

Kibbe . 

Mayp~arfl ...... . t:r 

Maynard . 

Maynard . 

Maynard . 

Worcester . 

Worcester . 

Worcester . 

Worcester . 

Brainerd  Quarry  Co . 

Brainerd  Quarry  Co . 

Brainerd  Quarry  Co . 

Brainerd  Quarry  Co . . 

Brainerd  Quarry  Co . 


Potsdam.  St.  Lawrence  Co . 

Malden.  Ulster  Co . 

Oxford,  Chenango  Co . 

Duanesburg.il,  Schenectady  Co. . 

Oswego  Falls,  Oswego  Co . 

Albion,  Orleans  Co . 

Hulberton,  Orleans  Co . 

Hulbertou,  Orleans  Co . 

Hulberton,  Orleans  Co . 

Portage,  Wyoming  Co . 

Warsaw,  Wyoming  Co . 

Glean,  Cattaraugus  Co. 

East  Longmeadow,  Mass. 

East  Longmeadow,  Mass 
i  W.  M  n 


East  Longmeadow,  Mass. 

East  Longmeadow.  Mass . 

East  Longmeadow,  Mass . 

East  Longmeadow.  Mass . 

East  Longmeadow,  Mass . 

East.  Longmeadow,  Mass . 

East  Longmeadow,  Mass . 

Portland,  Conn  . . 

Portland,  Conn . 

Portland,  Conn  . 

Portland,  Conn . 

Portland,  Conu  . . 

Belleville.  New  Jersey  . 

Berea,  Ohio. ...  . 

Lake  Superior,  Mich . 

Nova  Scotia .  . 

Bristow,  Prince  William  county, 
Bristow,  Prince  William  county, 
Bristow,  Prince  William  county, 


Penrhyn  Slate  Co 


Va. 

Va. 

Va. 


Middle  Granville,  Washington  Co  .  . 


2.6040 

162.28 

2.7515 

171.47 

2.7113 

168.97 

2.6991 

168.21 

2.6249 

163.59 

2.5989 

162.07 

2.5852 

161.09 

•2  5827 

160.97 

2.5865 

161.16 

2  6959 

168.01 

2.6814 

167.10 

2.6024 

162.02 

2.4788 

154.48 

2.4796 

154.52 

2 . 4802 

1  :>4 . 55 

2.4901 

155.18 

2.4918 

155.30 

2.4905 

155.33 

2.4942 

155.42 

2.4916 

155.30 

2.4916 

155.30 

2.4916 

155.30 

2.4885 

155.11 

2.6225 

163.43 

2.6181 

163.15 

2.6351 

164.21 

2.6308 

163.96 

2 . 6297 

163.91 

2.5618 

159.67 

2  5697 

160.06 

2.5380 

158. 17 

2.6236 

163.50 

2.6166 

163.07 

2.6133 

102.86 

2.5903 

161.41 

2! 8398 

170.98 

70  12  87 


54  1.84 


3.86 


0.36 

4.63 

3.46 

6  59 
0.51 
0.43 

3.89 

3.22 

3.01 

0.58 

"'6'.  79* 
0.16 

i  •  M 

0.09 

0.87 

"6.39 

0.23 

0.33 

1.81 

3^81 

2.080 

0.820 

1.110 

0.880 

3.530 

2.370 

2.48 

2.45 

2.21 

2.970 

2.960 

2.120 

4.870 

4.450 

3.375 

1.40 
l  .876 
1.48 
5.78 
3.84 

8.99 
3.94 
3.56 

4.99 

4  95 
3.43 

6 . 75 
6.88 

0.030 

0.032 

0.021 

0.011 

0.011 

0.092 

0.046 

0  037 

6.008 

0.015 

0  060 
0.046 
0.040 

0.049 

0.055 

0.035 

0.018 

0  018 
0.146 

0  074 
0.059 

0.01;; 

0.025 

0.097 

0.071 

0.062 

0.004 

0.003 

0.080 

0.065 

0.290 

0.012 

0.061 

0.078 

6.089 
0.250 
.i  0-10 
0.055 

0.006 

0.005 

0.185 

0.11 

0.47 

0.019 

0.098 

0.125 

6.149 

0.042 

11  065 
0.085 

0.02 

0.20 

0.20 

0.63 

0.74 

0.08 

0.08 

' ’ 6  *  42 
0.49 
0.44 
0.12 

Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  .  . 
Unchanged  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Checked  . . . 
Unchanged  . . 

Slight  checks. 
Slight  checks 
Chipped  .... 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Badly  checked  . . 
Unchanged  . . 
Chipped  slightly. 

No  change . 

0.14 

4.960 

7  .'69 

O.OoT 

<5.070 

0.17 

( 'hipped . 

Further  chipping 

5.080 

7.89 

0.086 

0.133 

. v  .  . . . 

5.010 

7.77 

0.076 

0.118 

5 . 090 

7.91 

0.060 

0.093 

6  29 

i  .53 

5.480 

8.51 

0.074 

0.115 

0.146 

0.226 

o.ii 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . .  .  . 

5.470 

8.48 

0.053 

0.082 

0. 161 

0.250 

5-440 

5 . 320 

8.44 
s  25 

0.068 

0.106 

1.29 

2.67 

3 . 070 

5.02 

0.074 

0.121 

6.059 

0.096 

0.55 

Chipped . 

2.900 

4  73 

0 . 080 

0.131 

0.086 

0.140 

1.29 

2.86 

2.600 

4.27 

0,078 

0.128 

0 . 003 

0.005 

6.22 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  ..... 

2.740 

2  710 

4.49 

4.44 

0.090 

0.147 

5 . 32 

8.49 

0.031 

0 . 049 

0.040 

0.064 

i.oi 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

10.  K8 

0 . 066 

0.106 

0.170 

0.272 

0.45 

Slight  flaw . 

0.29 

1.87 

0.43 

0.005 

0.008 

0.100 

0.158 

0.36 

Slight  flaw. .  . 

29.54 

0.025 

0.041 

0.020 

0.033 

0.20 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged . 

5.26 

3.620 

5.90 

0.079 

0.128 

0.180 

0.294 

0.11 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged . 

3.460 

5.62 

0.104 

0.169 

0.100 

0.163 

. 

3.310 

j  5.34 

1.87* 

' *7.36* 

o.is’ 

I  0.26 

0.004 

1"  o'.  007 

0^070 

0.124 

0.07 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  .  . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged  . . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Still  increase . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Breaks  open . 

Unchanged  . 

Slight  further  checking. 

Slight  scaling . 

Chipped  with  bedding 

Further  chipping. .... 

Further  chipping  . . . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Chipped . 

Chipped . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

Unchanged  . 

Color  unchanged;  no  checks.  Strength  impaired  but  little. 

Color  changed  to  dull  red;  checked  a  little.  Strength  somewhat  impaired. 

Color  changed  to  dull  red;  badly  checked. 

Checked  slightly;  strength  not  greatly  impaired,  color  changed  to  brownish  red. 
Color  brick  red;  strength  not  wholly  impaired. 

Color  pale  brick  red;  strength  little  impaired. 

Color  changed  to  pale  brick  red;  strength  little  impaired. 


Color  changed  to  dull  red;  no  checks.  Strength  impaired  but  little. 

Slight  vitrification;  checked  somewhat.  Color  changed  to  dull  red. 

Color  changed  to  dull  red;  strength  greatly  impaired. 

i  ’olor  changed  from  brown  to  brick  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  from  brown  to  brick  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

<  \ »k»r  changed  fmm  lav u a  taJ.n.-T  r.-.l  -  ttuuo.  Crumbled  -wiU»  a  blow. 

Color  unchanged;  strength  somewhat  impaired. 

Color  unchanged;  strength  somewhat  impaired. 


Color  changed  from  brown  to  dull  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  from  brown  to  dull  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  from  brown  to  dull  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  from  brown  to  dull  red;  strength  gone.  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Color  changed  from  brown  to  dirty  red;  strength  wholly  gone.  Crumbled  to  the  touch. 


Strength  entirely  gone. 

Strength  entirely  gone;  color  changed  to  a  light  red. 

Not  much  weakened;  color  changed  to  brown. 

Greatly  weakened;  color  changed  to  a  dull  red. 

Slight  vitrification;  color  pale  red,  strength  little  impaired. 


Partially  fused;  strength  gone. 


*  1  cu.  ft.  water  =  62.821  lbs. 


REPORT  OF  PROF.  FRANCIS  A.  WILBER 


359 


and  as  soon  as  its  extremity  began  to  show  signs  of  melting  the  heat  was 
guarded.  At  the  first  fusion  the  heat  was  turned  off.  The  muffle  was  at 
once  opened  and  the  samples  removed  and  laid  upon  a  clay  support  in  the 
open  air.  They  cooled  rapidly.  As  soon  as  cool  their  condition  was  noted. 
The  strength  of  the  cold  samples  was  roughly  tested  by  light  blows  with  a 
hammer.  The  comparative  results  of  this  test  will  be  found  in  column  24  of 
the  table. 

in  order  to  prove  the  uniformity  of  different  selected  blocks  of  stone  from 
the  same  quarry,  small  cubes  were  cut  from  different  blocks  of  the  same 
stone  in  several  of  the  samples,  and  each  of  these  cubes  treated  as  an  in¬ 
dependent  sample. 

From  C.,  2183,  three  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2185.  three  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2186,  four  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  (d),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2187,  four  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  (d),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2188,  two  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2189,  three  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2190,  three  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  were  taken. 

From  C.,  2225,  three  cubes,  marked  (a),  (b),  (c),  were  taken. 

The  results  of  the  comparisons  of  the  same  stone  will  be  found  in  columns 
5,  6,  14,  15,  17,  18.  The  agreement  in  these  cases  was  so  close  that  it  seemed 
unnecessary  to  continue  the  comparisons  further  with  other  samples,  and  the 
cubes  selected  for  the  various  tests  may,  therefore,  fairly  be  considered 
representative  ones  for  each  particular  quarry. 


360 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


NOTES  ON  THE  MICROSCOPIC  STRUCTURE 

Granite,  Forsythe’s  Quarry,  Grindstone  Island,  Jefferson 
County. —  Mineral  composition  :  quartz,  feldspar  (orthoclase 
and  plagioclase)  and  muscovite  ;  magnetite  accessory.  Both 
feldspars  have  lost  many  of  their  special  characters.  The 
cloudiness  is  not  confined  to  the  lines  of  cleavage  but  per¬ 
meates  the  whole  substance  of  the  mineral.  And  there  are 
no  glassy  crystals.  The  quartz  is  full  of  cavities.  It  car¬ 
ries  myriads  of  acicular  crystals,  probably  rutile.  The 
quartz  occurs  in  a  structure  known  as  mosaic  —  see  Saxon 
granulite  for  an  example. 

Granite,  Ausable  Granite  Works,  Keeseville,  Essex  County. — 

Norite  (?)  constituent  minerals  :  plagioclase,  orthoclase,  hy- 
persthene  and  biotite ;  accessory  minerals  :  hematite  and 
pyrite.  The  feldspars  are  almost  perfectly  fresh,  only 
traces  of  kaolinization  appearing.  The  hypersthene  is  the 
next  most  abundant  mineral.  This  is  very  fresh  generally, 
though  it  shows  slight  traces  of  change  along  the  cleavage 
lines.  It  has  scales  of  hematite  (?)  included.  It  occurs  in 
bladed  crystals,  one-eighth  to  one-quarter  of  an  inch  long ; 
also  in  irregular  grains.  The  biotite  occurs  in  small,  irreg¬ 
ular  crystals  in  limited  quantity,  but  fresh  looking.  The 
pyrite  is  scarce  and  in  small  grains  only. 

Granite  (weathered),  Ausable  Granite  Works,  Keeseville, 

Essex  County. —  The  feldspars  are  kaolinized  in  spots. 
Some  are  mottled  throughout,  but  generally  the  feldspars 
are  fresh. 

Granite,  Hallowed,  Maine. —  Orthoclase,  plagioclase,  musco¬ 
vite,  biotite  and  quartz.  The  feldspars  are  kaolinized  much 
more  than  they  show,  microscopically.  None  of  them  are 
fresh  throughout.  The  quartz  is  in  rough  and  irregular 
grains.  Sometimes  it  is  globular,  and  imbedded  in  the  feld¬ 
spar.  Both  the  quartz  and  the  feldspar  are  crowded  full  of 


I 


NOTES  ON  THE  MICROSCOPIC  STRUCTURE  36 1 

acicular  crystals  (undetermined).  The  muscovite  and  bio- 
tite  are  both  fresh  in  appearance.  The  biotite  is  only  an 
occasional  mineral. 

Sandstone,  Potsdam  Red  Sandstone  Company,  Potsdam,  St. 
Lawrence  County. —  Consists  almost  exclusively  of  quartz. 
The  grains  are  subangular  and  quite  clear.  The  cloudiness 
is  due  to  minute  crystals  and  to  pores  filled  with  either  gas 
or  fluid  of  some  kind.  Many  of  the  grains  show  a  second¬ 
ary  enlargement.  The  growth  is  indicated  by  a  clearer  rim 
of  quartz,  separated  from  the  inner  core  by  a  ferruginous 
rim.  The  cementing  material  is  almost  wholly  silica.  The 
interstices  are  filled  with  a  cloudy  mass,  apparently  fine 
grains,  cemented,  as  the  larger  ones,  by  silica. 

Blue-stone,  Bigelow  Blue  Stone  Company,  Malden,  Ulster 

County.— Minerals  :  quartz  and  feldspar.  The  quartz  is  in 
grains  which  appear  to  be  very  angular  in  shape,  more  like 
a  breccia.  And  the  grains  are  clearer  than  those  of  the 
other  sandstones  examined.  And  the  proportion  of  quartz 
grains  to  the  rest  of  the  matter  is  smaller.  The  feldspars 
observed  differ  very  materially  from  that  in  the  other  stone, 
Several  grains  of  a  triclinic  feldspar  were  observed,  which 
were  very  fresh.  Another  feldspar  is  almost  completely  de¬ 
composed.  No  carbonate  of  lime  appears  to  be  present, 
and  very  little  oxide  of  iron.  The  long,  wavy,  crystal-like 
dark  spots  in  the  stone  appear  to  be  decomposed  feldspar, 
more  or  less  stained  with  iron.  The  cementing  material  is 
probably  silica,  as  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  has  no  effect,  and 
is  not  stained  with  iron. 

Sandstone,  Oxford  Blue  Stone  Company,  Oxford,  Chenango 
County. —  Much  like  the  preceding. 

Sandstone,  Hughes  Brothers,  Oswego  Falls. —  Component 
minerals :  quartz  and  feldspar.  The  quartz  is  in  angular 
grains,  and  has  fluid  cavities  with  bubbles.  The  more  nu¬ 
merous  cavities  are  too  small  to  distinguish  the  filling  mat¬ 
ter.  Acicular  crystals  are  rarely  present.  The  feldspars 
are  wholly  kaolinized,  often  dirty  and  discolored  from  the 
46 


362  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

permeation  of  iron.  Carbonate  of  lime  also  appears  to  be 
one  of  the  results  of  decomposition.  The  cementing  mate¬ 
rial  is  chiefly  iron,  with  some  carbonate  of  lime. 

Sandstone,  Gilbert  Brady  &  Company,  Albion,  Orleans 

County. —  The  principal  mineral  constituent  is  quartz.  There 
is,  however,  much  kaolinized  feldspar,  some  granules  of 
hydrous  oxide  of  iron  and  a  “dirty,”  interstitial  matter, 
probably  fine  quartz  and  iron-bearing  clay.  The  cementing 
material  is  partly  carbonate  of  lime  and  hydrous  oxide  of 
iron,  the  latter  predominating. 

Sandstone,  Hulberton,  Orleans  County. —  This  stone  cannot 

be  distinguished  from  the  Albion,  excepting  that  the  former 
is  a  little  coarser-grained. 

Sandstone,  Portage  Bluestone  Company,  Portage,  Wyoming 
County. —  Minerals:  quartz,  feldspar,  micas  (?),  oxide  of  iron. 
The  quartz  is  filled  with  minute  cavities,  holding  liquids  and 
gases.  It  occasionally  seems  to  be  porous  as  the  cavities 
are  stained  with  oxide  of  iron,  which  comes  from  the  cement¬ 
ing  material.  The  feldspar  is  not  fresh,  but  kaolinized, 
carbonate  of  lime  being  one  of  the  resulting  products.  The 
mica  appears  in  minute  scales.  The  cementing  material  is 
largely  carbonate  of  lime,  hydrous  oxide  of  iron  being  next 
in  proportion.  In  dilute  acid  the  grains  of  quartz  fell  apart 
generally.  Some  of  the  granular  carbonate  of  lime  is  prob¬ 
ably  secondary  matter  from  the  feldspars. 

Sandstone,  Olean  Bluestone  Company,  Olean,  Cattarau¬ 
gus  County.—  Resembles  closely  the  Portage  sandstone, 
except  that  it  is  coarser-grained,  has  more  iron,  and  the  few 
scattering  scales  of  mica  (?)  are  so  far  decomposed  as  not  to 
be  identified  with  certainty. 

Sandstone,  Kibbe,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass. —  Constituent 
minerals  are  quartz,  feldspar  and  hornblende  (?).  The  quartz 
is  in  fine  grains  and  rather  free  from  inclusions.  The  feldspar 
is  almost  wholly  decomposed  and  stained  more  or  less  with 
iron.  Occasional  crystals  of  a  mineral  which  looks  like  horn¬ 
blende  occur.  Iron  is  the  principal  cementing  material. 


NOTES  ON  THE  MICROSCOPIC  STRUCTURE  363 

Sandstone,  Maynard,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass.—  Cannot 

be  distinguished  from  the  Kibbe  stone. 

Sandstone,  Worcester,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass.—  Quartz 

and  feldspar  are  the  constituent  minerals.  The  quartz  is 
cloudy  from  minute  cavities  and  is  more  or  less  stained. 
The  feldspars  are  almost  completely  kaolinized.  The 
cementing  material  is  apparently  lime  and  iron.  Fibrous 
mineral  abundant. 

Sandstone,  Brainerd  Quarry  Company,  Portland,  Conn. — 

Quartz,  feldspar  and  occasional  scales  of  decomposed  mica, 
are  the  constituent  minerals.  The  quartz  represents  about 
two-thirds  of  the  bulk  of  the  stone.  The  grains  are  angular, 
and,  as  a  rule,  clear.  Acicular  crystals  and  included  gas 
pores  and  liquid  are  not  common.  The  feldspars  are  almost 
all  of  them  completely  kaolinized.  Carbonate  of  lime  is  a 
resultant  mineral  of  this  decomposition.  Iron  is  the  chief 
cementing  material,  with  the  carbonate  of  lime.  Some  of 
the  feldspars  are  fresh  enough  to  show  the  original  cleavage 
lines.  The  muscovite  has  lost  most  of  its  special  properties 
and  appears  more  like  talc  There  is  much  interstitial 
“  mud  ”  which  seems  to  be  made  up  of  aggregations  of  iron 
and  fine  silica. 

Sandstone,  Belleville,  New  Jersey.— No  essential  differ¬ 
ence  is  noted  petween  this  stone  and  that  from  Portland. 

Sandstone,  Berea,  Ohio. —  Quartz  seems  to  be  the  principal 
mineral  in  this  stone.  The  sole  exceptions  appear  in  the 
yellow  spots  of  hydrous  oxide  of  iron.  The  quartz  is  in 
fine,  angular  and  even-sized  grains,  lying  in  close  contact. 
The  stone  seem  to  be  friable  and  imperfectly  cemented 
together.  There  is  no  reaction  for  carbonate  of  lime. 

Sandstone,  Bristow,  Virginia.— Quartz  and  feldspar  are 
constituent  minerals.  The  quartz  is  rather  cloudy.  The 
feldspars  are  almost  completely  kaolinized.  Enough  re¬ 
mains  to  show  that  they  were  plagioclase.  The  cementing 
material  is  hydrous  oxide  of  iron  and  carbonate  of  lime.  A 
great  deal  of  muddy  interstitial  matter  shows  clots  of  iron. 


364 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


NOTES  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  TESTS 

The  chemical  analyses  give  the  percentages  of  lime  and 
magnesia  and  of  insoluble  matters  (in  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid)  in  the  limestones  ;  and  the  ferrous  and  ferric  oxides 
in  the  sandstones.  The  ratio  of  the  lime  and  magnesia  in 
the  marbles  from  Tuckahoe  and  Pleasantville  shows  them 
to  be  dolomitic.  The  Sandy  Hill  and  Glens  Falls  stone  do 
not  have  enough  of  the  magnesia  to  be  classed  with  the 
dolomites.  They,  and  the  Gouverneur  marbles,  are  magne¬ 
sian  limestones.  Both  are  remarkable  for  their  high  per¬ 
centage  of  silica.  The  others  are  more  or  less  pure  lime¬ 
stones. 

The  sandstones  also  are  divisible  into  two  classes,  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  condition  of  iron  in  them.  In  the  blue-stone, 
and  the  other  gray  and  gray-blue  sandstones,  the  iron  ex¬ 
ists  in  them  as  ferrous  oxide  and,  probably,  in  combination 
with  the  silica  as  a  silicate.  The  red  sandstones  are  all 
marked  by  the  presence  of  ferric  oxide,  where  the  iron  is  in 
the  highest  state  of  oxidation.  The  Potsdam  and  Albion 
sandstones  are  exceptional,  in  that  they  contain  remark¬ 
ably  little  iron,  and  that  is  nearly  all  in  the  ferrous  condi¬ 
tion.  The  amount  of  iron  varies  greatly,  even  in  the  case 
of  the  red  sandstones,  from  0.80  per  cent  in  the  Lake  Su¬ 
perior  red  stone,  to  5.26  in  the  Potomac  red  sandstone  from 
Bristow,  Virginia.  Of  the  state  sandstones,  that  from-  Os¬ 
wego  Falls  has  the  most  ferric  oxide  —  1.71  per  cent.  The 
blue-stones  and  the  sandstones  of  the  Portage  and  Chemung 
formation  are  marked  by  relatively  small  quantities  of  ferric 
oxide. 


NOTES  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  TESTS 


365 


The  percentage  of  water  absorbed  by  the  dry  stone,  and 
the  weight  of  water  per  cubic  foot  of  the  stone,  varies  in 
the  several  classes  of  stone  as  follows  : 


Per  cent  of  Weight  of  water, 

water.  Pounds. 

Granites .  0.066  -  1.55  0.11  -  2.62 

Marbles . 0.08  -  0.16  0.14-  0.27 

Limestones .  0.07  -  6.17  0.14  -  10.36 

Sandstones . .  0.82  -  18.07  1.40  -  29.54 

Slate .  o.  1 5  0.26 


The  larger  number  of  sandstones  and  limestones,  and  the 
few  granites  and  marbles  tested,  make  the  comparative 
capacity  for  absorption  between  these  classes  of  stone 
appear  more  variable,  because  of  the  disparity  in  numbers 
being  so  great.  The  range  in  each  class  is  wide,  as 
shown  by  the  table.  It  will  be  noted,  however,  that  this 
variation  in  the  limestones  of  the  state,  although  large,  is 
not  as  great  as  it  is  in  the  sandstones.  The  total  range  of 
the  table  is  widened  by  the  great  absorptive  capacity  of  the 
oolitic  limestones  of  the  west,  which  are  included  in  the 
series.  The  granites,  marbles  and  the  limestones  do  not 
absorb  so  much  as  the  more  porous  sandstones. 

Arranged  in  the  order  of  water  absorbed,  beginning  with 
the  least  absorbent,  the  sandstones  stand  as  follows  : 

,  Per  cent 

absorbed. 


Blue-stone,  Bigelow  Blue  Stone  Co.,  Malden.  Ulster  county .  0.82 

Blue-stone,  Albert  Shear  &  Co.,  Duanesburgh,  Schenectady  county..  0.88 

Sandstone,  Oxford  Blue  Stone  Co.,  Oxford,  Chenango  county .  1.11 

Sandstone,  Potsdam  Red  Sandstone  Co.,  Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  co. .  2.08 

Sandstone,  Olean  Blue  Stone  Co.,  Olean,  Cattaraugus  county .  2.12 

Sandstone,  Gilbert  Brady  &  Co.,  Albion,  Orleans  county .  2.3 7 

Sandstone,  M.  Scanlon,  Hulberton,  Orleans  county .  2.38 

Sandstone  (coarse-grained),  Brainerd  Quarry  Co.,  Portland,  Conn  ....  2.68 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Wyoming  county.. . 2.87 

Sandstone,  Warsaw  Blue  Stone  Co.,  Warsaw,  W}^oming  county . .  2.96 

Sandstone  (fine-grained),  Brainerd  Quarry  Co.,  Portland,  Conn .  2.98 

Sandstone,  Bristow,  Virginia .  3. 46 

Sandstone,  Hughes  Bros.,  Oswego  Falls,  Oswego  county  . .  .  3.53 

Sandstone  (Kibbe),  Norcross  Bros.,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass. .  4-38 

Sandstone  (Maynard),  Norcross  Bros.,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass .  5.03 


366 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


Per  cent 
absorbed. 


Sandstone,  Belleville,  New  Jersey .  5-32 

Sandstone  (Worcester),  Norcross  Bros.,  East  Longmeadow,  Mass  ....  5.43 

Sandstone,  Berea,  Ohio . * .  6.80 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  Michigan . .  8.71 

Sandstone,  Nova  Scotia . .  18.07 


A  comparison  of  the  percentage  of  absorption  capacity 
and  the  specific  gravity  of  these  sandstones,  by  means  of 
graphic  illustration,  shows  that  the  absorption,  in  general, 
varies  inversely  as  the  specific  gravity.  And  there  are  three 
groups,  indicated  by  a  study  of  the  curves  representing 
these  elements.  They  are  : 

l  Malden  blue-stone. 

I.  k  Duanesburgh  blue-stone. 

(  Oxford  blue  sandstone. 

Potsdam  red  sandstone. 

Albion  sandstone. 

Olean  sandstone. 

Hulberton  sandstone. 

Portland,  Connecticut,  sandstone. 

Portage  sandstone. 

Warsaw  sandstone. 

Bristow,  Virginia,  sandstone. 

Oswego  Falls  sandstone. 

East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts,  sandstone. 

Belleville,  New  Jersey,  sandstone. 

Berea,  Ohio,  sandstone. 

Portage,  Lake  Superior,  Michigan,  sandstone. 

Nova  Scotia  sandstone. 

1 

The  higher  specific  gravity  and  lower  absorptive  capacity 
of  the  blue-stones  is  notable,  and  accords  with  a  wide  ex¬ 
perience  in  their  use.  The  difference  between  them  and 
the  Potsdam  and  Medina  sandstones,  which  are  placed  here 
in  the  second  group,  amounts  to  1.5  per  cent,  equivalent  to 
2.4  pounds  of  water  absorbed  by  a  cubic  foot  of  the  stone. 
In  the  third  group  the  water  absorbed  exceeds  4  per  cent, 
and  is  equivalent  to  at  least  6.75  pounds  in  weight.  The 


NOTES  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  TESTS 


36/ 


high  percentages  of  the  Berea,  Lake  Superior  red  and  the 
Nova  Scotia  sandstones  represent  the  more  porous  stones 
of  this  series. 

The  density  of  the  red  slate  is  shown  in  the  large  specific 
gravity  and  the  remarkably  low  absorption  capacity. 


The  percentage  of  loss  due  to  the  action  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  ranges  in  the  several  classes  of  stone  as  follows : 


Granites  . .  , 
Marbles. . . 
Limestones 
Sandstones 
Slate  . 


0.002  -  0.029 
0.004  -  0.023 
0.008  -  0.087 
0.003  -  0.29 
0.004 


These  percentages  are  low  and  apparently  insignificant. 
But  it  means  the  removal  of  so  much  material,  and  in  the 
long  exposure  of  years  it  is  cumulative.  And  it  is  the  re¬ 
moval  of  the  binding  material,  in  some  cases,  thereby 
exposing  the  stone  to  a  more  ready  disintegration  and  ruin. 
Particularly  is  this  true  of  the  sandstones  which  are  held  to¬ 
gether  by  lime,  or  iron  oxides,  soluble  in  water,  carrying 
carbonic  acid  gas.  It  is  notable  that  the  variation  in  the 
granites  is  large,  the  Hallowell  granite  showing  a  loss  ten 
times  as  much  as  that  of  the  Au  Sable  works,  at  Keeseville, 
and  five  times  that  of  the  Grindstone  Island  quarries. 

The  marbles  also  exhibit  much  variation,  the  loss  in 
the  highly  crystalline,  Tuckahoe  and  Pleasantville  marbles', 
being  one-fifth  only  of  that  in  the  case  of  the  Plattsburgh 
(“  Lepanto  ”)  marble,  and  one-third  that  of  the  Gouverneur. 
The  range  in  the  percentages  in  the  limestones  is  even 
greater.  In  the  case  of  those  from  state  quarries  it  is  be¬ 
tween  0.008  and  0.028.  The  much  larger  loss  in  the  oolitic 
limestones  of  Indiana  and  Kentucky  is  significant  and  indi¬ 
cative  of  much  more  rapid  wear  under  the  action  of  car¬ 
bonated  water. 

The  Potsdam  sandstone,  Malden  blue-stone,  Oxford  blue 
sandstone,  Belleville,  N.  J.,  sandstone,  and  the  Nova  Scotia 

23 


368 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


sandstone  average  about  0.03  per  cent  of  loss  ;  the  Connect¬ 
icut  brownstones  and  the  Massachusetts  red  sandstones 
vary  from  0.04  to  0.09  per  cent.  The  Portage,  Lake  Supe¬ 
rior,  sandstone  shows  the  least  action,  amounting  to  0.005. 

The  results  of  the  test  by  means  of  sulphurous  acid  gas, 
which  may  be  analogous  to  the  action  of  the  more  vitiated 
atmosphere  of  large  cities,  are  somewhat  similar  to  those 
in  the  carbonic  acid  gas  test.  And  the  extremes  are,  in  the 
several  kinds  of  stone,  as  follows  : 

Granites . .  .  . .  ....  0.007 

Marbles .  0.12 

Limestones . 0.065 

Sandstones . 0.003 

Slate . 

Keeseville  granite  loses  less  than  the  Hallowed,  but  more 
than  the  Grindstone  Island  specimen.  There  is  a  remark¬ 
able  difference  in  the  relative  behavior  of  the  limestones 
and  marbles  as  compared  with  the  granites  and  sand¬ 
stones,  in  the  amount  of  loss  caused  by  carbonic  acid  gas 
and  sulphurous  acid  gas,  respectively.  The  calcareous 
stones  lose  from  three  to  ten  times  as  much  in  the  test  with 
sulphurous  acid  as  in  that  with  the  carbonic  acid,  whereas, 
the  sandstones  and  granites  do  not  suffer  any  greater  loss. 
This  difference  is  highly  suggestive  in  its  application  to  con¬ 
structive  work  in  cities,  and  indicates  the  greater  capacity  of 
resistance  of  the  latter  classes  of  stone  to  the  action  of  an 
atmosphere  containing  this  gas. 

The  variation  in  the  marbles  is  less  than  in  the  carbonic 

acid  gas  tests,  and  the  Glens  Falls  stone  is  at  the  head 

_  •< 

of  the  list  —  while  the  Tuckahoe  and  Pleasantville  stones 
lose  more.  The  siliceous  Sandy  Hill  limestone  appears  the 
best  among  the  limestones,  its  loss  beingleast  and  only  one- 
third  of  that  of  the  Onondaga  gray,  and  less  than  half  that 
of  the  average  of  the  limestones.  The  Niagara  limestone, 
from  Williamsville,  shows  the  greatest  loss  —  0.25  per  cent. 


-  0.024 

-  0.25 
-0.25 
-0.17 

0.07 


369 


NOTES  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  TESTS 

It  is  notable  that  the  oolitic  stones  showed  a  gain  of  0.16  to 
o.  19  per  cent,  due  to  the  replacement  of  the  calcic  carbonate, 
in  part,  on  the  greater  area  of  interstitial  surfaces  in  these 
more  porous  stones,  by  the  calcic  sulphate  formed  by  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  the  sulphurous  acid. 

The  sandstones  exhibit  a  wide  range  of  loss,  amounting 
to  one  hundred  times  as  much  in  the  Oswego  Falls  stone  as 
in  the  Malden  blue-stone.  The  losses  in  the  Potsdam  and  the 
Lake  Superior  stones  also  are  small.  The  Berea,  Ohio,  the 
Bristow,  Virginia  and  the  Warsaw  stones  are  large  losers. 

The  action  of  the  dilute  sulphuric  acid  upon  the  granites, 
sandstones  and  slate  was  as  follows  : 

Per  cent  of  loss 
in  weight. 

Potsdam  sandstone . .  0.02 

Ausable  granite .  0.06 

Red  roofing  slate,  Middle  Granville . 0.07 

Sandstone,  Albion . .  0.08 

Sandstone,  Hulberton .  0.08 

Granite,  Hallowell,  Maine .  0.08 

Sandstone,  Worcester,  East  Longmeadow .  0.11 

Sandstone,  Bristow,  Virginia . . .  0.11 

Sandstone,  Kibbe,  East  Longmeadow . . .  0.11 

Granite,  Grindstone  Island .  0.13 

Sandstone,  Maynard,  East  Longmeadow . 0.17 

Blue-stone,  Malden .  0.20 

Sandstonp,  Oxford . .  0.20 

Sandstone,  Nova  Scotia .  0.20 

Sandstone,  Portland,  Connecticut . .  0.22 

Sandstone,  Lake  Superior,  Michigan . .  0.36 

Sandstone,  Portage .  0.42 

Sandstone,  Olean .  0.44 

Sandstone,  Berea,  Ohio .  0  45 

Sandstone,  Warsaw .  0.49 

Sandstone,  Portland,  Connecticut .  0.55 

Sandstone,  Duanesburgh  . .  0.63 

Sandstone,  Oswego  Falls . . .  0.74 

Sandstone,  Belleville,  New  Jersey . .  r.oi 

The  effects  of  repeated  and  rapid  changes  of  temperature 
in  alternate  freezing  and  thawing,  can  be  grouped  in  the 
class  of  sandstones,  as  follows : 

47 


370 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MU.SEUM 


I.  Unchanged. 

Sandstone,  Potsdam. 

Blue-stone,  Malden. 

Blue-stone,  Oxford. 

Blue-stone,  Duanesburgh. 

Sandstone,  Albion. 

Sandstone,  East  Longmeadow. 

Sandstone  (coarse-grained),  Portland,  Connecticut. 
Sandstone,  Belleville,  New  Jersey. 

Sandstone,  Bristow,  Virginia. 

Sandstone,  Nova  Scotia. 

II.  Slight  flaws  and  slight  checks. 

Sandstone,  Warsaw. 

Sandstone,  Olean. 

Sandstone,  Berea,  Ohio. 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  Michigan. 

III.  Slight  scaling. 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Wyoming  County. 

IV.  Chipped. 

Sandstone  (fine-grained),  Portland,  Connecticut. 
Sandstone  (Maynard),  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts. 
Sandstone  (Kibbe),  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts. 
Sandstone,  Hulberton. 

V.  Badly  checked. 

Oswego  Falls  sandstone. 


Noting  the  effects  produced  by  exposure  to  a  high  tem¬ 
perature  (i  200°-i400°F.)  and  sudden  cooling,  the  sandstones, 
as  tested,  may  be  grouped  as  follows : 

I.  Strength  impaired  but  little. 

Sandstone,  Potsdam. 

Sandstone,  Albion. 

Sandstone,  Hulberton. 

Sandstone,  Portage. 

II.  Strength  not  greatly  impaired. 

Blue-stone,  Duanesburgh. 

Sandstone,  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  Michigan. 

Sandstone,  Bristow,  Virginia. 

III.  Strenght  somewhat,  but  not  wholly  impaired. 

Blue-stone,  Malden. 

Sandstone  (Maynard),  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts. 
Sandstone,  Oswego  Falls. 

IV.  Badly  checked. 

Sandstone,  Warsaw. 

Sandstone,  Oxford. 


NOTES  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  TESTS 


371 


V.  Strength  greatly  impaired  —  Stone  greatly  weakened. 

Sandstone,  Olean. 

Sandstone,  Nova  Scotia. 

VI.  Strength  gone  —  Crumbled  with  a  blow. 

Kibbe  sandstone,  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts. 

Worcester  sandstone,  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts. 

Sandstone  (fine-grained),  Portland,  Connecticut. 

VII.  Strength  gone  —  Crumbled  with  touch. 

Sandstone  (coarse-grained),  Portland,  Connecticut. 

VIII.  Strength  entirely  gone. 

Sandstone,  Belleville,  New  Jersey. 

Sandstone,  Berea,  Ohio. 

Omitting  the  lesser  distinctions,  these  results,  obtained 
by  the  test  at  a  high  temperature,  may  be  roughly  grouped 
in  two  divisions.  In  the  one,  where  the  strength  is  not 
wholly  impaired,  the  sandstones  of  the  state  are  found  ;  in 
the  other,  wherein  the  strength  is  gone,  are  :  the  sandstones 
of  East  Longmeadow,  Massachusetts,  of  Portland,  Connec¬ 
ticut,"  Belleville,  New  Jersey,  and  Berea,  Ohio.  Of  the 
stones  from  the  state,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Potsdam 
and  Albion  sandstones  are  in  the  first  group  in  both  the 
freezing  and  the  heat  tests.  The  compact  blue-stones  from 
Malden  and  Duanesburgh,  appear  to  have  suffered  a  slight 
loss  of  strength  at  the  high  heat  test.  The  Oxford  blue 
sandstone  was  checked  badly. 

The  results  are  not  altogether  parallel  in  the  two  series, 
as,  for  example,  the  Belleville,  New  Jersey,  sandstone, 
which  was  unchanged  in  the  freeziug  and  thawing  tests, 
lost  its  strength  entirely  in  the  furnace  heating.  The  be¬ 
havior  of  the  Nova  Scotia  stone  was  somewhat  similar  to 
that  from  the  Belleville.  The  explanation  of  these  differ¬ 
ences  is  in  the  structure.  Although  both  of  these  sand- 
•  stones  are  porous  and  have  a  relatively  large  capacity  of 
absorbing  water,  they  are  not  laminated,  but  homogeneous, 
and  hence  did -not  show  checks  or  scaling.  The  specimen 
of  Berea  sandstone  was  laminated,  and  it  checked  in  freez¬ 
ing  and  thawing,  and  was  ruined  by  the  high  heat  test. 
The  conditions  of  exposure,  imitated  in  these  two  series  of 


372 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


tests,  are  not  such  as  to  be  resisted  equally  well  by  all  varie¬ 
ties  of  sandstone,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  above  notes  of 
the  results.  And,  hence,  comparatively  few  can  be  found 
which  are  durable  under  ordinary  exposure  to  atmospheric 
agencies,  and  are  fire-resisting,  also.  The  importance  of  dura¬ 
bility  under  ordinary  conditions  is  evident  at  once,  and  out¬ 
ranks,  in  all  general  constructive  work,  that  of  fire-resist¬ 
ance,  which  may  be  viewed  as  extraordinary  exposure  or  an 
accidental  condition.  The  superiority  of  the  better  sand¬ 
stones  to  the  granites,  marbles  and  limestones  in  their  prop¬ 
erty  of  resisting  the  effects  of  high  temperature  —  fire — is 
notable  and  worthy  of  consideration,  and  these  latter  classes 
of  stone  are  shown  by  the  tests  to  be  unable  to  with¬ 
stand  the  vitrifying  and  calcining  effects  of  intense  heat. 
Under  ordinary  weather  exposure,  as  shown  by  the  freezing 
and  thawing  tests,  they  are  quite  as  durable  as  the  sand¬ 
stones.  The  ability  to  resist  the  action  of  heat  determines 
the  value  of  a  stone  for  fire-proof  construction.  But  in  any 
fair  comparative  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  several  kinds 
of  building  stone  —  granites,  marbles,  limestones  and  sand¬ 
stones —  the  considerations  of  appearance,  beauty,  ease  and 
economy  of  working,  locality,  as  well  as  the  conditions  of 
exposure,  are  important.  And  no  rigid  scale  of  credits  or 
gradations  by  sharp  lines  of  demarcation  are  possible. 

The  results  of  these  comparative  tests  of  the  durability  of 
the  more  common  building  stones  in  use  in  our  cities,  are 
indicative  of  valuable  properties  in  the  best  stone  from 
quarries  in  the  state  and  of  superiority  over  those  from 
other  quarry  districts  of  the  country.  New  York  has  within 
its  limits  almost  inexhaustible  deposits  of  granites,  sand, 
stones,  limestones  and  marbles  of  such  superior  quality-  * 
And  for  durability,  some  of  its  sandstones  and  blue-stones 
are  the  best  in  the  world.  The  “  life  ”  of  such  stones,  or 
the  length  of  time  which  they  may  last,  as  durable  material 
in  buildings,  cannot  be  known  from  the  oldest  structures,  in 
which  they  are  still  almost  as  fresh  and  as  strong  as  ever. 


ON  THE  DURABILITY  OF  BUILDING  STONE 


373 


VI 

ON  THE  DURABILITY  OF  BUILDING  STONE 
AND  THE  CAUSES  OF  DECAY 

I.  Physical  Structure  —  State  of  Aggregation  of 

the  Particles 

The  physical  structure  and  the  chemical  composition  of 
stone  are  so  related,  and  the  durability  is  so  dependent 
upon  them,  that  it  is  difficult  to  consider  them  separately. 
The  rapid  disintegration  of  a  coarse-granular  and  loosely- 
aggregated  stone  is  hastened  if  the  component  grains  be 
readily  soluble  in  water  containing  acid  gases.  Conversely, 
the  resistance  to  weathering  agents,  in  the  case  of  a  siliceous 
stone,  is  vastly  increased  when  its  compact  mass  is  so  dense 
that  there  are  no  interstitial  spaces  into  which  water  can 
penetrate  rapidly.  The  points  of  attack  are  lessened  by 
the  closer  aggregation  of  the  crystals  or  grains.  So  inti¬ 
mate  is  this  relation  of  structure  and  composition  that  the 
defects  of  the  one  class  are  not  offset  by  the  advantages  of 
the  other,  and  these  defects  impair  seriously  the  value  of  a 
stone  —  the  ideal  structure  is  counterbalanced  by  wanting 
strength  of  chemical  constitution. 

The  physical  structure  is  of  importance  in  the  two  great 
classes  of  stone,  the  crystalline  and  the  granular  or  sedi¬ 
mentary  ;  although  in  the  latter  class  the  results  of  defec¬ 
tive  or  wanting  constitution  are,  perhaps,  sooner  apparent 
than  they  are  in  the  former  —  crystallines. 

I.  Sedimentary  or  granular  rocks  or  stone.  —  The  size  and 
arrangement  of  the  grains  are  here  considered.  It  is  evi¬ 
dent  that  the  size  of  the  grains  determines  to  some  extent 
the  interstitial  spaces  and  the  porosity  of  the  mass,  inas¬ 
much  as  the  coarser-granular  varieties  leave  larger  spaces, 


374 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


unless  they  are  filled  by  finer  material.  The  more  open  and 
loosely-aggregated  the  mass,  the  more  porous  the  stone,  and 
the  greater  the  volume  of  water,  carrying  dissolving  agents, 
which  can  be  absorbed,  and  the  larger  the  surface  area 
which  can  be  attacked  by  them.  The  arrangement  of  the 
grains  also  favors  or  prevents  the  ingress  of  these  attacking 
forces.  For  example,  a  laminated  structure,  with  its  planes 
along  which  the  flow  of  moisture  or  water  is  facilitated  or  is 
easier  than  in  other  directions,  helps  the  tendency  to  exfoli¬ 
ation,  or  the  scaling  off  of  thin  sheets  and  laminae.  On  a 
larger  scale  the  arrangement  of  rocks  is  seen  in  beds  and 
the  movement  of  subterranean  waters  is  along  their  bedding 
or  jointage  planes.  Where  the  mass  is  more  closely  in¬ 
terwoven,  as  it  were,  the  saturation,  although  equally  great 
in  volume,  is  not  onward  flowing  in  given  planes  and  in¬ 
creasingly  active,  and  there  are  no  lines  of  weakness  along 
which  the  disruptive  forces  can  act  so  readily.  The  ideal  of 
strength  of  structure  is  that  wherein  the  grains  are  in  close 
contact,  and  they  are  of  varying  sizes,  filling  all  the  space, 
as  in  such  an  arrangement  no  planes  of  splitting,  and, 
hence,  exfoliation,  are  possible,  without  cutting  across  the 
grains  themselves.  Hence  the  density  which  is  observed  in 
some  of  the  conglomerates,  where  the  spaces  are  well  filled 
by  a  strong,  siliceous  cement.  All  rocks  are,  however,  more 
or  less  porous.  The  particles  are  not  everywhere  in  actual 
contact,  and  there  are  spaces  of  greater  or  less  extent  be¬ 
tween  them.  The  most  dense  and  compact  limestones  and 
sandstones,  and  the  crystalline  granites  and  marbles  as  well, 
have  such  interstices.  And,  in  general,  the  specific  gravity 
is  indicative  of  the  degree  of  porosity  in  stones  of  a  given 
class,  that  is,  in  sandstone,  as  compared  with  sandstone,  or 
granite  with  granite.  It  will  be  understood  that  the  spe¬ 
cific  gravity  of  the  particles  or  mineral  species  composing 
the  rock  mass,  determines  that  of  the  stone.  Thus  quartz 
has  a  specific  gravity  of  2.65,  whereas  hornblende  and  py¬ 
roxene  rise  to  3.3 -3.5,  and,  hence,  the  specific  gravity  is 


ON  THE  DURABILITY  QF  BUILDING  STONE 


375 


determined  largely  by  the  minerals  which  make  up  the  mass. 
The  more  porous  a  rock  the  greater  the  interstitial  space, 
and  the  greater  its  capacity  for  absorbing  water,  or  its  ab¬ 
sorptive  ratio.  As  a  rule,  the  more  porous  stone  is  less 
valuable  as  a  durable  building  material.*  The  relation  of 
porosity  to  specific  gravity  is  shown  in  the  several  classes 
of  building  stone  in  the  following  table,  wherein  are  given  : 
first,  the  locality  ;  second,  the  specific  gravity  ;  third,  the 
percentage  of  water  absorbed,  or  the  absorptions  percent¬ 
age,  and,  lastly,  the  computed  pounds  of  water  absorbed  by 
a  cubic  foot  of  the  stone. 


Stone. 

LOCALITY. 

Specific 

gravity. 

Percentage 
of  water 
absorbed. 

Pounds  of 
water  ab¬ 
sorbed  per 
cubic  foot. 

Granite . 

Grindstone  Island,  Jefferson  Co... . 

2.714 

i-55 

2.62 

Granite . 

Ausable  Forks,  Essex  Co . 

2-755 

0.066 

O.  1 1 

Granite . 

Hallo  well,  Maine . 

2.655 

\  °- 34  l 

1  0.41  ( 

O  O 

On  on 
OO  On 

Marble . 

Tuckahoe,  Westchester  Co . 

2.868 

0. 14 

0.25 

Marble . 

Glens  Falls,  Warren  Co . 

2.718 

0.08 

O.  14 

Marble . 

Gouverneur,  St.  Lawrence  Co . 

2.756 

0. 16 

0.27 

Limestone... 

Sandy  Hill,  Warren  Co... . . 

2.764 

0.14 

0.24 

Limestone... 

Onondaga  Reserv.,  Onondaga  Co.. 

2.708 

0. 14 

0.24 

Limestone... 

Chaumont,  Jefferson  Co. . . 

2.715 

0.07 

0.12 

Limestone... 

Prospect,  Oneida  Co . 

2.725 

0. 14 

O.  24 

Sandstone . . 

Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  Co . 

2.604 

2.08 

3-37 

Sandstone . . 

Oxford,  Chenango  Co . 

2 .71 1 

1 . 1 1 

1.  87 

Sandstone . . 

Malden,  Ulster  Co . . . . 

2.751 

0.82 

1 .40 

Sandstone . . 

Albion,  Orleans  Co . . 

2.599 

2-37 

3-84 

Sandstone .. 

Warsaw,  Livingston  Co . . 

2.681 

2.96 

4-95 

Sandstone  . . 

East  Longmeadow  (Kibbe),  Mass. . . 

2.480 

4-33 

6.69 

Sandstone . . 

Portland,  Conn . 

2.622 

3-07 

5 .02 

Sandstone  . . 

Portland,  Conn,  (coarse-grained). . . 

2.635 

2.60 

4.27 

Sandstone . . 

East  Longmeadow  (Worcester) . 

Caen  limestone . 

2.490 

1-839 

5.48 

16.05 

8.51 

In  this  table  we  note  that  the  granites  range  in  specific 
gravity  from  2.65  to  2.71;  the  marbles  2.70  to  2.86;  the 

*  “  Other  things  being  equal,  it  may  probably  be  said  that  the  value  of  a  stone  for 
building  purposes  is  inversely  as  its  porosity  or  absorbing  power.” — T.  S.  Hunt, 
Chemical  and  Geological  Essays.  Boston,  Mass.,  1875,  p.  164. 

24 


376 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


limestones  2.70  to  2.76  ;  the  sandstones  2.48  to  2.75.  The 
absorptions  percentage  in  the  several  classes  is  as  follows  : 


Granites . . . 
Marbles. . . . 
Limestones 
Sandstones 


0.066-1 . 55. 
0.08  -0.16. 
0.07  -o.  14. 
0.82  -5.48. 


The  greater  absorbing  capacity  of  the  sandstones  as  com¬ 
pared  with  the  crystalline  granites  and  limestones  is  appar- 
enff  in  this  table.  And  a  granular  structure  is  generally 
more  porous  than  a  crystalline  one,  and  less  able  to  with¬ 
stand  the  action  of  frost* 

In  the  crystalline  stones  the  structural  arrangement  is 
important  because  of  the  diversity  in  the  mineralogical  spe¬ 
cies.  It  may  be  well  illustrated  by  reference  to  granite  and 
gneiss,  which  differ  in  the  arrangement  of  the  minerals 
only.  But  this  difference  is  a  radical  one  in  a  consideration 
of  use  as  a  building  material.  The  parallel  lines  in  the  fo¬ 
liated,  gneissoid  rocks,  or  the  layers  of  feldspar,  quartz  and 
mica,  afford  easy-splitting  planes  and  ready  access  to  moist¬ 
ure.  The  rate  of  alteration  and  decay  varies,  and  this  un¬ 
equal  destruction  of  the  mass  lets  down  the  more  enduring 
minerals  and  layers.  Hence,  as  a  rule,  the  granites  are 
more  durable  than  the  foliated  rocks  —  as  gneisses  and 
mica  schists.  The  greater  uniformity  in  the  size  of  the 
crystals  also  contributes  to  the  strength  of  the  stone. 

*  The  volume  of  water  absorbed,  when  relatively  large,  increases  the  dampness,  re¬ 
quiring  an  increased  consumption  of  fuel  for  its  evaporation  and,  what  is  of  far 
greater  importance,  contributes  to  the  injurious  effects  of  alternations  of  heat  and 
cold,  by  freezing  and  thawing.  In  order  to  get  a  more  impressive  conception  of  the 
amount  of  water  which  can  be  absorbed,  assume  the  case  of  an  ordinary  brownstone 
front.  Then,  given  a  height  of  fifty  feet  and  a  stone  veneering  eight  inches  thick,  the 
total  weight  of  water  which  a  saturated  condition  would  represent  in  the  several  varie¬ 
ties  of  sandstone,  Potsdam,  Medina,  East  Longmeadow  and  Connecticut  brownstone, 
would  be  as  follows: 

Potsdam . . .  1,685  pounds. 

Medina .  1,920  “ 

East  Longmeadow . . 4,255  “ 

Portland,  Connecticut ... .  .  2,510  “ 

or,  in  general,  between  three-quarters  and  two  tons,  nearly. 


ON  THE  DURABILITY  OF  BUILDING  STONE 


377 


The  coarsely-crystalline  stones  are  more  liable  than  the 
finer-crystalline  to  be  injured  by  the  decay  and  falling  out 
of  the  less  enduring  micas  and  hornblendes.  The  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  constituent  crystals  in  any  given  stone  also  af¬ 
fects  its  strength.  The  interlocking  of  crystals  gives 
strength,  as  in  any  woven  texture  the  closer  the  threads  of 
woof  and  warp  the  greater  the  resistance  to  rending. 

II.  C  hemical  Composition 

The  durability  of  building  stones  is  indicated  by  their 
chemical  composition,  both  in  the  cystalline  and  the  non¬ 
crystalline,  or  sedimentary  groups.  And  the  nature  of  both 
the  grains  and  the  cementing  material  is  to  be  considered. 
The  latter  may  be  such  as  to  be  readily  acted  upon  by 
atmospheric  elements,  and  the  stone  fall  to  pieces  as  a  heap 
of  quartzose  sand,  each  grain  of  which,  by  itself,  would  have 
resisted  for  ages.  Without  the  bond  the  tottering  wall 
gives  away.  The  principal  atmospheric  agents  which  attack 
stone,  are  carbonic,  hydrochloric,  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids, 
ammonia  and  several  organic  acids.  These  agents,  carried 
by  rain  water,  act  by  solution,  oxidation,  deoxidation  and 
hydration  and  the  constituent  minerals  as  well  as  the  cement 
are  affected  by  them.  And  the  durability  of  any  given 
stone  is  determined  by  that  chemical  constitution  which  is 
least  liable  to  change  under  their  action. 

In  the  crystalline  rocks  the  varying  degree  of  solubility 
of  the  several  minerals  is  indicative  of  the  strength  of  resist¬ 
ance,  which  may  be  offered,  and  of  the  enduring  property  of 
the  mass.  A  siliceous  rock,  other  things  being  equal,  is  the 
most  durable.  The  silica  must,  however,  be  in  a  compact 
and  well  cemented  form,  as  in  quartzite,  and  not  in  the  shape 
of  a  loosely  coherent  sandstone.  Argillaceous  or  shaly 
stones  are  inferior  in  quality  on  account  of  both  physical 
structure  and  chemical  weakness.  For  the  same  reason 
limestones  containing  clayey  seams,  and  sandstones  with 
48 


378 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


shaly  cement,  are  inherently  weak.  The  ferruginous  or  iron 
compounds  are  all  more  or  less  easily  attacked,  and  when, 
as  in  the  case  of  many  sandstones,  the  cementing  material 
is  such,  its  presence  is  of  importance  in  a  consideration  as  to 
durability.  The  ferric  oxide  cannot  take  up  more  oxygen, 
and  is,  therefore,  preferable  to  the  ferrous  compounds. 
The  sulphides  are  susceptible  to  change  in  the  long  ex¬ 
posure  to  the  air.  The  nature  of  the  mineralogical  species 
in  the  case  of  the  sulphides  has,  however,  much  to  do  with 
the  rate  of  decay,  the  pyrite  being  more  durable  than  the 
marcasite.* 

Calcareous  compounds,  particularly  the  carbonates,  are 
dissolved  readily  by  water,  carrying  carbonic  acid  gas,  and 
hence  the  pure  limestones  are  comparatively  short-lived. 
The  magnesian  carbonate  is  less  soluble,  and  as  a  rule,  the 
magnesian  and  dolomitic  limestones  and  marbles  are  more 
durable  than  the  purely  calcareous  stones. f 

As  there  is  a  wide  range  in  the  ease  with  which  the  more 
common  minerals  of  the  crystalline  rocks  are  attacked  or  in 
their  rate  of  alteration  and  decomposition,  the  same  is  true 
of  the  various  granites,  granitoid  rocks,  gneissic  and  other 
crystalline  stones  in  whose  composition  they  enter,  and 
which  are  used  iq  construction  work.  The  feldspars  vary 
greatly  in  their  ability  to  resist  atmospheric  agencies,  which 
tend  to  their  kaolinization  and  destruction,  as  is  evident  in 
the  unequal  weathering  of  granitoid  rocks  under  apparently 
similar  conditions.  The  more  highly  ferruginous  micas, 
hornblendes  and  pyroxenes  are  apt  to  decay  more  rapidly 
than  those  containing  less  iron.  Pyroxene,  as  compared 
with  hornblende,  also  is  more  liable  to  change. 

*  A.  A.  Julien,  United  States  Tenth  Census,  Report  on  Building  Stone. 

f  “As  a  general  rule,  however,  the  magnesian  limestones,  in  their  normal  condition 
are  more  friable  and  more  porous  and  less  firm  in  their  character  than  the  pure  car¬ 
bonates  of  lime.  *  *  *  The  more  porous  limestones  and  some  of  the  marbles, 
which  'notoriously  lack  cohesive  power,  may  be  more  affected  by  this  action.”  Prof. 
James  Hall,  report  on  building  stone.  39th  Annual  Report  New  York  State  Museum, 
Albany,  1886,  p/210.  (Communicated  to  Capitol  Commissioners  in  1868). 


ON  THE  DURABILITY  OF  BUILDING  STONE 


379 


The  mineralogical  composition  representing  the  chemical 
nature  of  the  stone  is,  therefore,  of  the  first  importance  in  a 
consideration  of  its  durability  for  building  purposes.  And 
for  the  granites  a  safe  generalization  is  a  relatively  high  per¬ 
centage  of  silica,  as  quartz  (or  an  acidic  granite)  with  un¬ 
altered,  orthoclase  feldspar  and  a  comparatively  small 
amount  of  the  lighter-colored  hornblendes  and  micas.  In 
the  marbles  the  dolomitic  and  highly-crystalline  varities  are 
to  be  preferred  to  the  purely  calcareous  stones.*  In  the 
limestones  the  more  siliceous  varieties  and  those  in  which 
the  magnesia  and  lime  are  found  in  the  proportions  of  a  true 
dolomite,  represent  the  more  durable  kinds.  -The  sandstones 
vary  much  in  the  nature  of  the  cementing  material,  and  they 
are  graded,  according  to  their  chemical  composition,  into 
siliceous,  argillaceous,  ferruginous,  micaceous  and  calcareous 
varieties.  The  siliceous  bond  is  the  best,  wherein  the  mass 
approximates  to  a  quartzite  in  its  composition.  The  others 
are  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  liable  to  decay  through  the 
solution  of  their  cement. 


III.  Accident  of  position  —  in  use 

In  this  section  the  consideration  of  the  properties  inherent 
in  stone,  due  to  their  position  in  their  natural  habitat  —  the 
quarry,  is  omitted,  although  its  importance  is  recognized. 
We  take  it  from  Nature’s  great  building  for  the  construction 
of  our  edifices.  Reference,  however,  may  be  made  to  the 
weathered  rocks  of  the  surface,  the  altered  laminae  of  beds 
standing  on  edge,  the  shattered  condition  of  highly  folded 
and  faulted  strata,  the  metamorphosed  nature  of  the  rocks 
of  volcanic  districts,  and  the  glaciated  and  polished  out-crops 
within  the  limits  of  the  continental  glacier.  In  these  cases 
Nature  is  a  great  teacher,  and  her  object  lesson,  so  easily 

*  The  rapid  wear  and  destruction  of  some  well-known  marbles  is  explained  by  the 
mixture  of  calcareous  with  dolomitic  grains  and  the  disintegration,  by  the  solution  of 
the  former  —  thus  breaking  down  the  mass. 


3  80 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


read,  is  before  us.  In  building,  the  horizontal  position  of 
the  bedded  stone  is  of  greatest  importance.  That  is,  the 
stone  should  be  laid  on  its  bed,  and  not  on  edge.*  Im¬ 
proper  position  in  the  wall,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the 
weather,  has  more  to  do  with  the  disintegration  and  decay 
of  building  stone,  than  the  chemical  composition,  and,  in 
many  cases,  it  is  more  effective  than  the  inherent  weakness 
in  its  physical  structure. 

In  New  York,  and  in  the  smaller  cities  of  this  state,  the 
common  practice  is  to  pile  the  stone  up  edge-wise,  making  a 
veneer,  as  it  were,  of  stone.  The  use  of  granites,  marbles 
and  limestones  in  this  way  would  not  be  so  reprehensible, 
especially  in  stones  which  are  massive  and  without  lamina¬ 
tion.  In  practice,  however,  it  is  the  bedded  rocks  and  the 
sandstones  which  are  thus  laid  on  edge.  The  brownstone 
of  Connecticut  has  been,  almost  without  exception,  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  more  effective  action  of  the  atmospheric  agents, 
through  this  faulty  system  of  erection.  The  varying  nature 
of  the  material  for  any  great  thickness,  and  the  oblique  lam¬ 
ination  and  cross-bedded  structure,  so  common  in  sand¬ 
stones,  occasion  the  exposure  of  material  of  unequal  hard¬ 
ness,-  and  consequent  unequal  weathering,  when  the  stone 
is  dressed  or  smoothed  to  a  plane  surface,  and  is  set  on 
edge  in  the  wall.f  In  the  case  of  the  Connecticut  brown- 
stone  this  variation  yields  wavy  lines  in  the  the  rubbed  sur¬ 
faces,  which  are  a  pleasing  relief  to  the  eye  in  material  of  so 
sombre  a  shade  of  color.  But  when  it  is  recognized  as  as¬ 
sociated  necessarily  with  elements  of  weakness,  the  culti¬ 
vated  sense  of  beauty  is  offended.  The  scaling  or  exfolia¬ 
tion  of  large  sheets,  due  to  the  action  of  infiltrating  water 
and  frost,  is  evident  after  exposure  for  a  few  years,  or,  at 
most,  of  two  or  three  decades,  and  the  result  is  an  unsightly 
front.  Longer  exposure  tends  to  the  breaking  down  of  the 

*  Not,  necessarily,  as  in  the  quarry,  as  it  may  there  have  been  tilted  and  on  edge. 

f  Report  on  Building  Stone,  by  Prof.  James  Hall,  39th  Annual  Report  N.  Y,  State 
Museum,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  pp.  205-6. 


ON  THE  DURABILITY  OF  BUILDING  STONE  38 1 

whole  block,  and  the  complete  destruction  is  a  question  of 
time,  so  that  the  life  of  our  brownstone  front  scarcely  ex¬ 
ceeds  that  of  its  well-preserved  owner.  Near  the  earth  this 
scaling  proceeds  more  rapidly,  as  can  be  seen  in  all  struc¬ 
tures  where  stone  is  so  placed.  The  exposure  to  extremes 
of  temperature  and  an  excess  of  moisture,  both  in  the  melt¬ 
ing  snows,  which  are  often  piled  against  these  lower  courses, 
and  that  arising  from  the  ground,  when  not  stopped  by  a 
damp  course,  appears  to  be  the  cause  for  this  more  rapid 
decay.  Another  cause  of  decay  is  in  the  faulty  construction 
of  walls,  wherein  no  provision  is  made,  by  undercut  mould¬ 
ings  to  carry  off  the  drip  of  the  water,  and  by  inclined  sur¬ 
faces,  in  the  case  of  lintels  and  sills,  so  that  it  cannot  sat¬ 
urate  the  stone.  The  proper  position,  even  when  the  sills, 
lintels  and  water-tables  are  laid  on  their  bed,  does  not  pro¬ 
tect  thoroughly,  if  there  are  horizontal  surfaces  where  the 
water  cannot  drain  off  freely  and  quickly.  Polished  surfaces 
add  to  the  strength  in  position,  by  conducing  to  a  more 
rapid  drainage  of  the  rain  waters,  than  do  the  natural  sur¬ 
faces  of  quarry-face  stone  or  the  uneven  ones  of  rough- 
dressed  blocks.  They  have  no  little  hollows  into  which  the 
waters  can  collect,  and  so  act  upon  the  stone  up  to  the  point 
of  a  saturated  solution.  The  ancient  Greek  structures,  of  pol¬ 
ished  Pentelic  marble,  and  the  palaces  of  the  Lombards,  in 
northern  Italy,  are  evidence  of  the  durability  of  smoothed 
and  polished  surfaces.  The  old  Gothic  builders  also  appreci¬ 
ated  the  importance  of  smooth  surfaces,  as  well  as  a  proper 
position  in  the  wall.  The  glaciated  ledges  of  our  rock  out¬ 
crops,  which  shed  the  water  rapidly,  show  the  value  of  such 
a  surface  for  endurance.* 

*  “  A  smooth  and  sound  rock  surface,  produced  by  glacial  rubbing  and  polish,  is 
better  adapted  to  endure  the  ravages  of  time  than  any  artificially  hammered  surface.” 
—  Dr.  Robert  Bell,  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  of  America,  Vol.  i,p.  306. 


382 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


CAUSES  OF  DECAY 

With  Notes  of  Observations 

The  causes  of  decay  have  been  noted  incidentally  in  the 
section  on  the  durability  of  building  stone.  Their  further 
consideration  may  be  illustrated  by  references  to  examples 
in  construction  and  to  outcrops  of  rocks  in  which  the  phe¬ 
nomena  are  well  exhibited. 

The  agents  causing  decay  are  physical  and  chemical. 

I.  Physical  Agents 

This  group  includes  : 

1.  Heat  (and  cold)  — expansion  and  contraction. 

2.  Mechanical  abrasion,  by  water  and  by  wind. 

3.  Growing  organisms. 

Climate  and  situation  are  factors  of  importance  in  a  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  effects  on  building  stone  of  variations  in 
temperature.  In  the  dry  air  and  less  range  of  temperature 
in  Egypt,  the  coarse  crystalline  granite  (syenite)  retains  its 
smooth  and  even  polished  surface  for  centuries  ;  in  our  less 
equable  climate,  and  alternately  dry  and  humid  atmosphere, 
the  same  stone  scales  after  an  exposure  of  a  decade  of  years. 
The  marble  structures  of  ancient  Attica,  the  well-preserved 
monuments  of  ancient  Rome,  in  fact,  of  all  the  drier 
climates  of  the  Mediterranean  basin,  are,  to-day,  in  so  good 
a  state  of  preservation,  not  so  much  because  of  inherent 
differences  in  the  stone,  or  even  in  its  use,  as  in  the  absence 
of  extreme  degrees  of  frost.*  The  situation,  also,  is  of  im- 

*  The  sculptured  figures  in  the  white,  Pentelic  marble  of  the  columns  and  arches  in 
Rome  are  still  well  preserved,  because  of  the  pure  and  smokeless  atmosphere  as  well 
as  by  absence  of  extremes  of  temperature. —  Hull,  Building  and  Ornamental  Stones 
London,  1872,  pp.  128-9. 


CAUSES  OF  DECAY 


383 


portance.  Exposure  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  produces 
a  greater  variation  of  temperature  than  that  on  north  or 
shaded  sides  of  buildings.  The  range  of  temperature  in  our 
northern  states  is  comparatively  great  and  subject  to  sharp 
and  frequent  fluctuations.  Stone  has  not  a  high  conductive 
power,  and,  generally,  little  elasticity.  In  the  sedimentary 
rocks  the  grains  are,  in  most  cases,  uniform  in  the  nature  of 
material,  but  in  the  crystalline  rocks  there  is  more  generally 
an  aggregation  of  minerals  of  diverse  species,  each  of  which 
has  its  rate  of  expansion.  The  coefficient  of  expansion  in 
the  case  of  quartz,  for  example,  is  much  greater  than  it  is  in 
orthoclase  feldspar  and  hornblende  ;  calcite  is  much  less 
than  that  of  dolomite.  This  unequal  rate  of  expansion, 
where  the  range  of  temperature  is  great,  tends  to  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  slight  fractures  and  interstices,  into  which 
moisture  and  air  can  penetrate,  and  the  strength  of  the 
crystalline  mass  is,  no  doubt,  impaired  in  time  by  many  al¬ 
ternations  of  heat  and  cold,  and  the  consequent  expansion 
and  contraction  to  which  it  is  subjected.  As  is  well  known, 
some  of  the  granites  fly  to  pieces  more  quickly  when  sub¬ 
jected  to  a  high  temperature  than  the  sandstones.  The 
cause  may  be  in  this  differential  rate  of  expansion.  The 
failure  of  granite,  in  the  great  Boston  fire,  is  a  notable  ex¬ 
ample  of  the  unequal  tension  and  the  consequent  destruc¬ 
tion,  in  case  of  intense  heat.*  The  tests  reported  in  the 
table  show  the  disastrous  effects  of  heat  on  granites  as  com¬ 
pared  with  sandstones  of  even  grain. 

Held  together  by  their  cohesive  power,  the  individual 
blocks  of  stone  expand  as  units,  and  stone  structures  of  large 
size,  no  doubt,  also  deviate  from  a  normal,  according  to  the 
degree  of  heat.  Thus  the  rate  of  expansion  for  granite  is 
.000004825  inch  per  foot,  per  degree  of  F.;  that  of  marble, 

*The  great  fire  of  Boston,  like  that  of  Chicago,  was  an  extraordinary  test,  and  the 
heat  was-  more  intense  than  that  of  a  lesser  fire,  and  no  stone  withstood  it  success¬ 
fully.  Neither  sandstone  nor  even  common  building  brick  can  stand  up  in  a  blast 
furnace. 


25 


3§4 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


.00000568  inch  per  foot,  per  degree  F.;  that  of  sandstone, 
.000009532  inch  per  foot,  per  degree  F.  For  example  a 
sandstone  block,  ten  feet  long,  would  in  the  change  from 
30°  below  zero  to  ioo°  F.  above  zero,  be  lengthened  .15  of 
an  inch.  The  mere  alteration  in  volume  might  not  alone 
work  serious  injury,  but  aided  by  moisture  it  becomes  a 
most  active  agent,  and  the  effects  of  expansion  and  of  water 
cannot  be  well  disassociated  and  defined  in  quantity.  The 
force  exerted  by  freezing  water  is  well  known,  and  a  common 
phenomenon  in  breaking  the  strongest  material.  An  ele¬ 
mentary  example  may  be  cited  here  —  the  bursting  of  quartz- 
crystals  which  contain  liquid  inclusions  —  or,  as  commonly 
stated,  bubbles  of  water.  At  quarries  where  porous  stones 
are  raised,  and  particularly  sandstones,  the  practice  of 
‘'seasoning”  the  stone,  that  is,  of  letting  the  moisture  in  it 
— “  quarry  water” — dry  out  before  use,  is  another  common 
example,  illustrating  the  influence  of  frost.  Cases  where 
unseasoned  or  “  green  ”  stones  have  been  suddenly  cracked 
and  shattered  badly,  in  cold  weather,  are  too  common  to 
cite  them. 

Applying  these  generalizations  to  the  several  classes  of 
building  stone,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  effects  of  frost  are 
exerted  along  the  weaker  lines,  and  hence  stones  which  have 
a  laminated,  schistose  structure  are  the  most  liable  to  be 
affected.  The  scaling  or  exfoliation,  so  common  in  some  of 
our  sandstones,  is  due  in  great  part,  to  the  force  of  freezing 
water,  and  it  is  most  apparent  where  the  conditions  favor  the 
ingress  of  the  water  and  where  the  position,  also,  allows  of  a 
movement  of  the  outer  film  or  layer — scaling,  as  in  the  stones 
set  on  edge  in  an  outer  wall  —  the  frost  acts  as  a  wedge, 
splitting  the  stone.  Results,  as  serious,  are  seen  in  the  gran¬ 
ular  rocks,  whose  binding  material  is  readily  soluble.  The 
dissolving  and  disruptive  forces  of  water  here  unite  and,  to 
some  extent,  the  mechanical  or  abrading  force  also.  Some 
of  the  Nova  Scotia  sandstones  in  New  York  city  are  badly 
weathered  in  this  way.  The  worst  sufferer  from  the  effect 


CAUSES  OF  DECAY 


385 


of  heat  and  cold  in  New  York,  has  been  the  brownstone,  and 
mainly  through  improper  position.  The  results  are  charge¬ 
able  to  the  architect  and  builder  rather  than  to  the  stone. 

The  crystalline  rocks  also  suffer  by  frost,  and  reference 
may  be  made  again  to  the  obelisk  in  New  York,  whence 
have  fallen  many  pounds  of  spalls  or  fragments  forced  off 
by  the  frost.* 

Where  the  stone  is  homogeneous  and  close-grained,  and 
lacks  the  laminated  or  schistose  structure,  it  is  better  able  to 
resist  disintegration  by  frost  action.  As  already  stated,  the 
greater  the  porosity  and  the  more  open-grained  the  stone, 
the  more  water  it  can.  absorb,  and  the  greater  the  force 
which  the  frost  can  exert.  It  is  however  to  be  borne  in 
mind  that  a  stone  may  be  so  coarse-grained  and  open  as  to 
shed  quickly  its  water  and  dry  without  damage  from  freez¬ 
ing,  as  a  sandy  soil  may  dry  sooner  and  not  be  -frozen  to  the 
depth  of  a  clayey  and  compact  layer.  In  our  climate  the 
action  of  snow  is  apparently  more  damaging  than  rain, 
as  it  facilitates  the  saturation  of  the  stone,  and  the  alterna¬ 
tions  of  freezing  and  thawing  are  perhaps  more  frequent  and 
more  severe.  Especially  is  this  the  case  near  the  ground, 
and  where  the  melting  snow  lies  against  the  foundation. 
In  a  higher  and  colder  latitude,  where  the  snow  may  act  as 
a  protective  covering  against  excessive  cold,  and  the  stone 
be  kept  comparatively  dry,  except  for  a  short  period  in  the 
spring  and  autumn,  this  action  may  be  slight.  As  in  the 
case  of  wood  the  decay  is  most  rapid  near  the  water-line 
and  not  under  it ;  so  in  that  of  stone,  the  greatest  damage 
is  where  there  is  the  widest  range  and  most  frequent  alter¬ 
nation  of  heat  and  cold,  and  of  wet  and  dry  conditions. 

The  mechanical  abrasion  by  rain  water  is  an  effect  which 
cannot  be  measured  in  actual  cases,  but  it  is  a  factor  in  the 

*  “  So  too,  the  obelisk  of  Luxor  had  stood  for  forty  centuries  in  Egypt  without  being 
perceptibly  affected  by  that  climate.  *  *  *  As  the  result  of  but  forty  years  of 

exposure  (at  Paris)  it  is  now  full  of  small  cracks,  and  blanched,  and  evidently  will 
crumble  to  fragments  before  four  centuries  have  passed.”  A.  A.  Julien,  United  States 
Tenth  Census,  Vol.  v,  p.  370. 

49 


386 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 


destruction  of  stone.  The  patter  of  the  rain  upon  the  soil 
and  the  erosion  by  running  waters,  sculpturing  the  face  of 
the  earth,  are  familiar  phenomena  to  all.  It  also  is  helped 
by  the  dissolving  property  of  the  water,  and  the  minute 
exposed  projections  of  the  surface  are  sooner  or  later 
loosened  and  carried  away  by  the  rain  or  the  flowing  cur¬ 
rents  of  the  little  rivulets,  which  collect  in  the  more  rapid 
dashes  of  our  thunder-storms.  Some  of  the  more  friable 
limestones  and  marbles  are  examples  of  such  combined 
action  of  the  dissolving  and  denuding  rain.  The  little 
structures  reared  by  man  are  thus  exposed  to  the  same 
forces  as  the  gigantic  cliffs  and  mountains  about  him,  all  of 
which  are  being  carried  slowly  but  surely  down  to  lower 
levels  and  to  the  ocean. 

Perhaps  equally  potent  as  the  water,  but  not  so  gen¬ 
erally  recognized,  is  the  action  of  the  wind,  carrying  sand, — 
greater  or  less,  according  to  its  velocity.  On  the  seashore 
and  in  exposed  situations  it  is  noticeable  in  the  eroded  sand 
hills  and  cliffs.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  cases  can  be 
seen  in  the  dolomitic  limestones  of  Dutchess  county,  near 
Dover  Plains,  where  the  wind  has  sculptured  the  rocks  in 
fantastic  forms  over  areas  of  several  acres  in  extent.  The 
ground  glass  in  the  windows  of  some  of  the  older  houses  at 
Nantucket  is  an  example  of  wind  work  —  natural  sand  blast. 
The  wind  drives  not  only  the  sand,  but  the  rain  also,  and 
that  into  every  seam  and  joint,  and  penetrates  often  the 
whole  thickness  of  a  wall,  thus  aiding  the  solvent  action  of 
the  rain-water.  And,  hence,  the  wear  of  the  stone  is  great¬ 
est  on  the  sides  of  the  prevailing  winds.  In  New  York 
city,  in  the  older  churchyards,  monuments  are  seen 
smoothed  on  the  windward  side  and  the  lettering  effaced. 

Growing  Organisms. —  Conferva,  algae,  lichens  and  mosses 
all  thrive  more  or  less  upon  ledges  of  rocks  in  favorable 
situations.  The  effect  of  their  growth  on  stone  in  a  build¬ 
ing  is  not  altogether  settled. 

We  know  that  some  of  our  hardest  and  apparently  inde- 


CAUSES  OF  DECAY 


387 


structible  rocks,  as  the  siliceous  conglomerates  of  the  Shaw- 
angunk  mountains,  and  where  there  are  no  evidences  of 
surface  decay,  are  yet  covered  with  lichens.  It  is  possible 
that  there  is  no  effect  here.*  It  is  well  known  that  certain 
rocks  are  suited  to  certain  species  of  mosses,  and  a  more 
vigorous  growth  is  a  mark  of  some  kinds  of  stone.  The 
green  confervse,  so  often  seen  in  damp  weather  upon  more 
porous  stones,  are  indicative  of  moisture  and  of  greater  ab¬ 
sorptive  capacity.  As  it  disappears  with  the  season,  and 
has  almost  no  hold  on  the  stone,  its  effect  must  be  slight. 
It  is  rather  an  index  of  a  porosity,  and  of  a  consequent  ten¬ 
dency  to  decay,  through  the  action  of  water  and  frost. 
Where  the  mosses  thrive  there  will  be  some  accumulation 
of  dust  and  a  lodging  place  for  spores  and  seeds  of  plants, 
whose  rootlets  can  do  harm  in  the  case  of  inferior  stone. 
And  this  growth  in  turn  favors  the  further  accumulation  of 
material  in  which  it  may  continue  to  thrive.  In  nature  the 
ledges  of  softer  and  more  porous  stone  exhibit  the  growth 
of  confervae,  whereas  the  lichens  thrive  upon  the  harder 
and  more  compact  rocks,  f 

The  fungi,  from  their  more  penetrating  power,  may  do 
injury,  as  in  their  causation  of  decay  and  rots  in  the  case  of 
wood. 


II.  Chemical  Agents 

» 

The  chemical  agents  are  the  following: 

1.  The  solvent  action  of  waters  carrying  carbonic,  sul¬ 
phuric,  nitric,  hydrochloric  and  organic  acids. 

2.  The  oxidizing  and  deoxidizing  action  of  the  air,  in  the 
presence  of  moisture. 

*  “When  firmly  established,  lichens  seem  to  exercise  a  protective  influence  against 
the  ordinary  causes  of  decomposition  of  the  stone  upon  which  they  grow/’  Gwilt, 
Encyclopedia  of  Architecture,  London,  1867,  p.  456. 

J  “  None  of  the  softer  rapidly  decaying  rocks  produce  this  vegetation.”  Prof.  James 
Hall,  39th  Annual  Report  New  York  State  Museum,  Albany,  1886,  p.  218. 


388  BULLETIN  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM 

3.  The  hydration  produced  in  the  case  of  the  iron  oxides 
and  anhydrous  minerals. 

4.  The  action  of  sulphurous  acids  in  the  air. 

The  action  of  carbonated  waters,  in  dissolving  mineral 
matters  of  rocks,  is  one  of  the  best  known  facts  in  chemical 
geology.  And  the  extent  to  which  some  limestones,  and 
even  crystalline  rocks  are  weathered,  bears  witness  to  its  en¬ 
ergy.  In  the  laboratory  it  is  possible  to  imitate  nature  by 
subjecting  specimens  to  this  test.  Carbonate  of  lime  and 
oxide  of  iron,  which  are  often  the  cementing  matter  in  a 
stone,  are  particularly  susceptible  of  solution  by  rain-water 
containing  some  acid.* 

The  kaolinization  of  the  feldspars  is  another  form  in 
which  the  solvent  action  of  water  is  exhibited.  This  phase 
of  decomposition  is  common  in  nature,  and  the  kaolin  beds 
are  results  of  this  decay.  More  observations  on  its  occur¬ 
rence  in  our  granite  structures  are  wanting,  owing  to  the 
short  periods  which  they  have  stood  exposed  in  our  climate. 

Careful  microscopic  examinations  would  doubtless  prove 
its  progress  in  existing  structures. 

The  oxidation  of  pyrite  and  magnetite,  and  of  the  ferrous 
compounds  of  iron,  is  often  attended  with  serious  results, 
and  nearly  always  produces  discoloration  and  makes  a  stone 
unsightly. f  In  the  case  of  magnetite,  the  oxidation  pro¬ 
cess  results  in  the  production  of  a  ferric  oxide,  and  yellow¬ 
ish  or  red  stains  and  spots  which  disfigure  the  stone.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  pyrite,  there  appears  to  be  some  varia¬ 
tion  in  the  tendency  to  oxidation,  and  the  presence  of  mag¬ 
netite  is  not  always  absolutely  injurious  or  liable  to  cause 
decay  and  mar  the  beauty  of  the  stone.  Examples  of 
stained  and  spotted  stone,  due  to  oxide  of  iron,  are  so  com- 

*The  tests  referred  to  on  pages  367,  368  show  the  extent  to  which  the  several  classes 
of  building  stone  are  affected,  when  subjected  to  the  action  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

f  When  the  pyrite  is  in  fine  crystals  and  distributed  uniformly,  the  oxidation  may 
produce  a  mellowing  tint  and  pleasing  effect,  as  in  some  of  the  Ohio  sandstones. — 
Merrill,  Building  Stone,  p.  337. 


CAUSES  OF  DECAY 


389 


mon  as  not  to  need  references.  The  proto-silicates  of  iron, 
also,  are  affected  by  oxidation  and  result  in  persilicates.  In 
general,  the  iron  compounds  may  be  said  to  rust  through 
the  oxidizing  agency  of  the  atmosphere.  Inasmuch  as  in 
our  buildings  the  stone  is  fully  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
rain-water,  the  effect  of  oxidation  is  at  a  maximum,  and 
greater  than  in  the  ledges  and  out  crops,  and  also  greater 
than  in  the  quarry.* 

The  deoxidation  is  exceptional  and  is  rarely  seen  in  walls 
above  ground.  It  may  go  on  in  foundations  and  in  sub¬ 
marine  structures. 

Hydration  occurs  in  the  case  of  minerals  which  are 
anhydrous,  and  they  absorb  water  from  the  air.  Brown 
hematite  is  an  example  of  a  hydrated  iron-oxide.  The 
production  of  this  oxide  of  iron,  or  ochre,  is  common  in 
the  weathering  of  rocks.  And  its  occurrence  in  building 
stone  may  be  due  in  many  instances,  to  the  oxidation  and 
hydration  of  pyrite,  magnetite  or  other  iron  minerals. 
Owing  to  the  degree  of  change,  there  are  stages  in  the 
progress  to  complete  hydration,  and  several  compounds  — 
between  the  ferrous  oxide  and  the  hydrated  ferric  oxide. 

The  action  of  these  several  agencies  upon  building  stone 
is  not  generally  limited  to  a  single  one,  nor  separate  from 
those  which  act  mechanically.  The  wind  and  rain,  frost 
and  heat  ;  the  dissolving,  oxidizing  and  hydrating  action  of 
the  atmospheric  air,  are  so  interlocked  that  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  and  define  the  effect  of  each  one.  They  com¬ 
bine  in  the  work  of  decomposition  and  disintegration,  and 
tend  to  level  in  the  dust  the  structures  which  man  raises 
and  which  he  fondly  hopes  can  resist  them.  But  change, 
that  law  of  our  material  world,  is  stamped  on  what  he 
builds. 

“  For  the  stateliest  building  man  can  raise  is  the  ivy’s 
food  at  last.” 


*  Bischoff,  Chem.  and  Phys.  GeoL,  Vol.  iii,  p.  60. 


INDEX 


\ 


PAGE 


Acid  gases,  tests  with . -.357,  368 

Adirondack  Granite  Company .  282 

Adirondack  region,  granites  in.  .206,  232 

Albany,  use  of  stone  in .  324 

Albion,  quarries . 263 

Albion  sandstone,  microscopic  struc¬ 
ture  of . 362 

Albion  stone,  in  Buffalo . 347,  849 

Algae  on  buildings . 322,  837 

Algae  on  stone . 386 

Allegany  county,  quarries  in . 277 

Amsterdam,  Montgomery  county. .  . .  243 

Analysis,  chemical,  of  stone  . 356 

Aqueduct,  Schenectady  county .  259 

Asphalt  pavements. . . . 351 

Atmospheric  agents  affecting  stone.  .  382 

Auburn,  quarries  at . 252 

Auburn,  use  of  stone  in .  842 

Au  Sable  Granite  Company .  232 

Au  Sable  granite,  microscopic  struc¬ 
ture  of . 860 

B 

'  i 

Bath,  Steuben  county .  277 

Belfast,  Allegany  county .  277 

Belleville  sandstone  used  in  New 

York  city . 298,  313 

Belmont,  Allegany  county .  277 

Berea  sandstones  in  New  York. .  .301,  314 

Binghamton,  use  of  stone  in . 837 

Blue-stone  (Hudson  river) . 265 

Blue  stone  used  in  New  York.  .  .304,  315 

Blue-stone,  absorption  tests .  366 

Blue-stone  as  building  stone .  322 

Blue-stone,  microscopic  structure  of.  861 
Blue-stone,  Schenectady,  in  Albany..  329 

Boston  fire . 3S3 

Boulders,  glacial,  use  of .  319 

Brady,  Gilbert,  quarry  of .  263 

Break-Neck  Mountain  quarry .  281 

Brooklyn,  stone  buildings . 317 

Brownstone,  Connecticut,  decay  of. . .  328 
Brownstone,  Connecticut,  in  New 
York  city . 295,  313 


PAGE 

Brownstone  on  edge . 380,  384 

Brownstone,  Connecticut,  structure 

of .  363 

Buffalo,  Erie  county,  quarries .  254 

Buffalo,  rise  of  stone  in .  346 

Building,  faulty .  379 

Building  stone  used  in  Albany .  324 

Buildings  of  stone,  Buffalo .  848 

Buildings,  stone,  in  New  York.  .287,  309 

Buildings  of  stone,  Rochester . 343 

Buildings  of  stone,  Syracuse .  839 

c 

Caen  limestone  in  Albany .  327 

Caen  limestones  in  New  York.. .  .306,  316 

Calcareous  compounds  in  stone .  378 

Calcareous  compounds  dissolved .  388 

Calciferous  limestone .  209 

Camden,  Oneida  county .  260 

Canajoharie,  Montgomery  county. . .  245 

Canton,  St.  Lawrence  county . 237 

Capitol,  Albany,  stone  in . 326,  329 

Carbonic  acid  gas  tests . 867 

Catskill  sandstone . -. .  224,  270 

Cattaraugus  county  quarries .  277 

Cayuga  county  quarries .  252 

Chemical  agents  of  decay .  887  . 

Chemical  analyses  of  stone  .  . .  358 

Chemical  composition  and  durability,  376 

Chaumont,  Jefferson  county .  248 

Chautauqua  county,  quarries  in .  278 

Chazy  limestone . 210,  242 

Chemung  county,  quarries  in  ......  276 

Chemung  sandstone . 224,  275 

Chenango  county  quarries .  271 

Cherry  Valley,  Otsego  county  .quarries  250 

Clayton,  Jefferson  county . 258 

Climate,  effects  of .  382 

Clinton  county,  quarries  in. . . . .  .243,  25b 

Clinton  Group,  sandstone  .  221 

Clinton  quarries . 273 

Cobleskill,  Schoharie  county  . 249 

Cohocton,  Steuben  county .  277 

Cohoes,  use  of  stone  in  . 332 

Columbia  county,  quarries  in .  239 

Construction,  faulty . 379 


26 


392 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Connecticut  brownstone,  decay  of . . .  328 
Connecticut  brownstone,  faulty  use 


of . 380,  384 

Connecticut  brownstone  in  New  York 

city.. . 295,  313 

Connecticut  brownstone,  structure  of,  363 

Corniferous  limestone,  Buffalo .  346 

Corning,  Steuben  county .  276 

Coventry,  Chenango  county. . .  272 

Crown  Point,  Essex  county .  242 

Crystalline  rocks .  202 

Crystalline  rocks,  decay  of . 374,  378 

Cuba,  Allegany  county .  ....  277 


D 

Dansville,  Livingston  county,  quarries  276 


Decay  by  chemical  changes . 387 

Decay  by  vegetable  growth .  386 

Decay,  causes  of .  382 

Decay  due  to  edgewise  position  ...  .  380 

Decay  of  crystalline  stones . 374,  378 

Delaware  county,  blue-stone  in ..... .  270 

Density  of  stone . ' . .  374 

Dorchester  freestone  in  New  York 

city . 300,  312 

Drainage  in  walls .  381 

Drift,  stone  in,  use  of  .  319 

Durability  of  building  stone .  373 

Dutchess  county  quarries . 288,  279 

E 

East  Long  Meadow  sandstones  in  New 

York . . 298,  313 

East  Long  Meadow  stone,  structure  of  362 

East  Whitehall  quarries . 280 

Egleston,  Thomas,  on  decay  of  stone,  297 

Elmira,  quarries  at. . . .  276 

Elmira,  use  of  stone  in .  336 

Erie  county,  quarries  in . 253 

Erosion  by  water  . 386 

Essex  county,  quarries  in  .  .232,  238,  242 

256 

Euclid  blue-stone  in  New  York.  .301,  814 
Expansion  due  to  heat . 383 

E 

Feldspars,  decay  of  . 388 

Field  stone  in  building .  323 

Fire-resisting  capacity  of  stone.  .370,  383 

Fires,  stone  in . 383 

Flag-stone,  Hudson  river . 265 

Flag-stone,  Potsdam  . . 257 

Fordliam,  quarry  at  . .  234 

Fort  Ann,  quarry  at . 255 

Fort  Plain,  quarry  at. .  245 

Frankfort  Hill,  quarries  at. . .  . . 273 

Franklin  county  quarries . .  256 

Freezing  and  thawing  tests . 358,  369 

Frost,  action  on  stone . 369,  384 

F ulton  brownstone  quarries  . 261 

Fulton  sandstone .  339 

Fungus  on  limestone .  339 


PAGE 

Genesee  county  quarries . 253,  261 

Glacial  drift,  stone  in . 226 

Glacial  drift,  use  of  stone  from .  319 

Glens  Falls,  quarries  at .  241 

Gneiss,  quarries  of .  228 

Gneiss,  Manhattan  Island . 291,  311 

Gouverneur,  St.  Lawrence  county  . . .  286 

Granby,  quarry  at  .  262 

Granby  brownstone .  349 

Granville,  slate  at . 279 

Granites,  absorption  of .  376 

Granites,  microscopic  structure .  360 

Granites,  quarries  of . 205,  230 

Granites  used  in  Albany . 825 

Granites  in  Boston  fire . 383 

Granites  used  in  Brooklyn  .  317 

Granites  used  in  New  York  ....  290,  309 

Greene  county  quarries . ...  267 

Greenfield,  quarries  in .  232 

Greenport,  quarry  in  ...  . . 239 

Grindstone  Island,  Jefferson  county. .  233 

Grindstone  Island  granite . 360 

Growing  organisms  in  stone . 386 


H 

Hallowell  granite,  microscopic  struct¬ 


ure  of .  860 

Hall’s  Reports,  reference  to.  .220,  224,  378 

380,  387 

Hamilton  group .  222 

Hammond  quarries . . . 258 

Hastings  quarries .  229 

Hatch  Hill  slate .  280 

Haverstraw,  Rockland  county .  278 

Heat,  action  of,  on  stone  .  370 

Helderberg,  Upper,  limestone  in  Au¬ 
burn  .  342 

Herkimer  county,  quarries  in . 246 

Higginsville,  quarry  at . 273 

Higginsville  stone  in  Utica  .  334 

Highlands,  granites  and  gneiss  in ,  205,  230 

Highland,  quarry  at .  259 

Holland  Patent,  quarries  at .  246 

Holley  sandstones  in  Buffalo  . . .  .347,  349 

Holley,  quarries  at .  262 

Hornellsville,  Steuben  county .  277 

Howe’s  Cave,  quarry  at .  249 

Hudson  River  blue-stone . 265 

Hudson  River  blue-stone  for  building,  322 
Hudson  River  blue-stone  in  New 

York  city  . 304,  315 

Hudson  River  group . 218,  259 

Hudson,  quarry  near .  239 

Hulberton  quarries .  262 

Ilulberton  sandstone,  structure  of . . .  362 

Hulberton  stone  in  Buffalo . 347,  349 

Hull,  Edward,  on  use  of  stone . 283 


Hummelstown  sandstone  in  New  York  302 

314 

1 

Indiana  limestones  in  New  York.  .304,  316 
“  International  Scotch  granite  ” . 233 


INDEX 


393 


h 

A 


PAGE 


PAGE 


Irish  limestone  in  New  York  city.  . . .  316 


Iron  compounds,  changes  in .  388 

Iron  in  stone . 378,  388 

Ithaca,  quarries  at .  273 

J 

Jamestown,  quarries  at .  278 

Jefferson  county,  quarries  in,  233,  247,  258 
Julien,  Alexis  A.,  on  durability  of 
stone . 301 


K 


Kaolinization  of  feldspars . 388 

Keeseville,  quarries  at . 256 

Ivensico,  quarry  at  . .  230 

Kentucky  limestones  in  New  York,  305 

316 

Kingston,  quarries  at . 238 

Kingston,  use  of  stone  in . 322 


L 

Lamination  and  absorptive  capacity. .  374 


‘  ‘  Lepanto  marble  ”. . . . . 243 

Leroy,  quarry  at .  253 

Lewis  county,  quarries  in . 247 

Lichens  on  stone.  . .  387 

Lime  in  stone,  soluble . 378,  388 

Limestone . 207,  238 

Limestone,  absorption  tests  of.  ..365,  376 

Limestone,  Caen,  decay  of . . . .  „ . 327 


Limestone,  Caen,  in  New  York..  .306,  316 
Limestone,  Onondaga,  use  of.  . .  .337,  338 
Limestone,  Trenton,  in  Utica  . .  333,  335 
Limestone,  Willsborough  Neck.  .327,  331 


Limestone  sidewalks . 340 

Limestone  in  Auburn .  342 

Limestone  in  Brooklyn . 318 

Limestone  in  Buffalo . 346,  350 

Limestone,  Lockport . .  351 

Limestones  used  in1  New  York  city. .  304 

315 

Limestone  in  Rochester .  343 

Limestone  in  Syracuse . 338 

Lockport  gray  limestone .  351 

Lockport,  quarries  at . 254 

Lockport,  use  of  stone  in .  351 

Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county. .  .232,  246 

Livingston  county  quarries . 274 

Lower  Helderberg  group. . 212,  249 

Lowville,  quarry  at . 247 


M 


Madison  county,  quarries  in .  250 

Magnetite  in  stone .  388 

Maine  granite  in  Albany . 325 

Maine  granites  in  New  York. . .  .291,  309 

Malone,  quarries  at . 256 

Manlius,  quarry  at .  250 

Mapes’  Corner,  quarry  at .  238 

Marbles . 207,  234 


Marbles,  absorption  tests  of . 367 

Marble,  “coral-shell” .  240 

Marble,  “  Glens  Falls  ” . 241 

Marble,  “  Lepanto  ” .  ...  243 

Marble,  ornamental . 294,  327 

Marble,  Pleasantville . 294,  312 

Marble,  Tuckahoe. .  . 293,  312 

Marble  used  in  Albany . 326 

Marble,  use  of,  in  Brooklyn .  317 

Marbles  used  in  New  York . 292,  311 

Marbles,  wear  of .  294 

Marble,  verd-antique .  237 

Masonry,  faulty . 379 


Massachusetts  granites  in  New  York,  291 

310 

Massachusetts  marbles  in  New  York,  293 

311 

Massachusetts  sandstones,  structure 


of .  362 

Massachusetts  sandstones  used  in 

New  York .  298 

Mather’s  Report,  reference  to  . .  .219,  226 

Medina,  quarries  at . 264 

Medina  sandstone .  219,  260 

Medina  sandstone  in  Buffalo .  347 

Medina  sandstone  in  Rochester . .  344 

Mettowee  red  slate  quarries  . 279 

Mica  schist .  228 

Middle  Granville,  slate  quarries  at  .  .  280 

Microscopic  structure .  360 

Minerals  in  stones .  360,  379 

Mosses  on  stone  .  387 

Monroe  county  quarries . 254,  261 

Montgomery  county  quarries .  243 

N 

New  Baltimore  quarries . 259 

Newark  sandstone  used  in  New  York 

city  ...  . 297,  313 

Newburgh,  quarries  at. .. .  . 238 

Newburgh,  use  of  stone  in .  319 

New  Hamburgh  quarry .  238 

New  Hartford  sandstone .  334 

New  Hudson,  quarry  at . 27t 

New  Jersey  sandstone  used  in  New  ' 

York . 297,  313 

Newport  quarries .  246 

New  red  sandstone . 225,  278 

New  York  city,  quarries  in . 228,  234 

New  York,  use  of  stone  in .  283 

New  York,  granites  used  in . 290,  309 

New  York,  sandstones  used  in..  .294,  312 

New  York,  stone  for  street  work .  307 

Niagara  county  quarries . 254,  265 

Niagara  Falls . . 255 

Niagara  limestone .  . 211,  254 

Niagara  limestone,  Lockport, . 351 

Niagara  limestone,  Rochester .  343 

Norwood,  St.  Lawrence  county _  248 

Nova  Scotia  sandstones  in  New  York 

city . 299,  313 

Nyack  quarries  . . .  278 

Nyack  sandstone  in  Albany . 329 


50 


394 


INDEX 


o 


PAGE 


R 


PAGE 


Obelisk  in  New  York . * .  385 

Ogden sburgh,  quarry  at .  248 

Ohio  sandstones,  use  of .  347 

Oliio  sandstones  in  New  York  city, 301,  314 

Olean,  quarry  at  .  277 

Oneida  county,  quarries  in.  .246,  260,  261 

Oneonta  sandstone  formation .  222 

Oneonta,  quarry  at . 272 

Onondaga  county  quarries  .  250 

Onondaga  Reservation,  quarries  on..  250 
“  Onondaga  gray  limestone  ”...  .213,  250 
Onondaga  gray  limestone,  use  of,  337,  338 

Orleans  county,  quarries  in .  262 

Orange  county,  quarries  in.  .201,  231,  238 

Oriskany  Falls,  quarry  at .  250 

Oriskany  sandstone .  221 

Otsego  county  quarries . 250,  272 

Oswego,  use  of  stone  in . 341 

Oswego  county  quarries . 260 

Oswego  Falls,  quarry  at  ... .  ....  260 

Oswego  Falls  stone,  microscopic  struc¬ 
ture  of . 361 

Oxford  blue  sandstone. .  337 

Oxford,  quarry  at . 271 


P 


Palatine  Bridge,  quarry  at . 245 

Paving  blocks,  granite  for  .  234 

Paving  blocks,  sandstone. .  .220,  257,  263 

Paving  stone,  Medina,  use  of . 346 

Paved  streets,  New  York  citv .  308 

Peekskill,  quarry  near  . . 231 

Penrkyn  Slate  Company . .-  ...  280 

Penn  Yan  quarries .  274 

Perryville,  quarry  at .  250 

Physical  structure  of  stone . 373 

Plattsburgh  quarries . .  243 

Pleasantviile,  quarry  at . 235 

Pleasantville  marble . .  294,  312 

Porosity  of  building  stone  .  374 

Portage  group  . 223,  265 

Portage  sandstone,  structure  of . 362 

Portage,  L.  S. ,  sandstones . 347,  350 

Portage,  L.  S.,  sandstone  in  New  York  302 

314 

Port  Henry  quarries . 226,  238 

Potsdam  sandstone  . .  217 

Potsdam,  quarries  at .  256 

Potsdam  sandstone,  microscopic  struc¬ 
ture  of . 361 

Potsdam  sandstone  in  Albany .  327 

Potsdam  sandstones  used  in  New  York 

city  . . 303,  315 

Potsdam  sandstone,  Syracuse .  340 

Prospect  quarries . 246 

Poughkeepsie,  use  of  stone  in .  321 

Putnam  county  quarries  ...... .230,  236 

Pyrite  in  stone .  388 

Q 

Quartzytes  .  214 

Quaternary  formations . 226 


Rensselaer  county  quarries . 259,  279 

Rhinebeck,  quarry  at .  259 

Rochester,  Medina  sandstone  at.  ...  261 

Rochester,  quarries  at . 254,  261 

Rochester,  use  of  stone  in .  343 

Rockland  county  quarries .  230,  278 

Rockland  Lake,  quarry  at .  207 

Roofing  slate. .  . .  279 

Roofing  slate,  New  York  city .  306 

s 

St.  Lawrence  county,  quarries  in.  236,  248 

256 

Salem  slate  quarries  .  280 

Sandstones . 214,  255 

Sandstones,  absorption  of  water.. 364,  376 

Sandstones,  color  of .  364 

Sandstones,  disintegration  of. . .  .295,  300 
Sandstones,  microscopic  structure  of,  361 

Sandstones  at  high  heat . 371 

Sandstones,  iron  in .  364 

Sandstone,  East  Long  Meadow,  in 

Albany. . .  326 

Sandstone,  East  Long  Meadow,  in 

Syracuse . 340 

Sandstone,  Fulton . 339 

Sandstone,  Medina,  use  of .  347 

Sandstones,  Ohio,  use  of . 347 

Sandstone,  Oxford,  use  of .  337 

Sandstone,  Potsdam,  in  Syracuse  . .  .  340 
Sandstones,  Scotch,  used  in  New  York 

city. .  . .  . . 302,  314 

Sandstones  used  in  Albany .  327 

Sandstones  used  in  Brooklyn  .  318 

Sandstones  used  in  Buffalo .  347 

Sandstones  used  in  New  York. .  .294,  312 

Sandstones  used  in  Rochester .  344 

Sandstone,  Warsaw,  use  of . 337,  345 

Sandy  Hill,  quarries  at . 240 

Saratoga  county,  quarries  in.  .  .  232,  240 

Saratoga  Springs,  quarries  near .  240 

Scarsdale,  quarry  at .  229 

Schenectady,  use  of  stone  in  .  331 

“  Schenectady  blue-stone  ” . 259,  332 

Schenectady  blue-stone  in  Albany. .  .  329 
Schenectady  county  quarries ...  .243,  259 

Schoharie  county,  quarries  in .  249 

Schuyler  county  quarries .  274 

Scotch  sandstones  used  in  New  York 

city . 302,  314 

Seneca  county,  quarries  in  .  253 

Seneca  Falls  quarries .  253 

Serpentine,  New  York  city .  312 

Sharon  Springs,  quarries  at .  250 

Sharpe,  Gen.  Geo.  H.,  on  old  houses.  323 

Shawangunk  mountain  quarries .  218 

Shushan,  slate  quarry  at  . 280 

Siliceous  bonds  in  stone .  379 

Sing  Sing,  marble  at . 236 

Sing  Sing  marble  in  Albany . 326 

Snow  as  protection . 385 

Solubility  of  stone  constituents . 377 

Specific  gravity  of  stone . 357 


INDEX 


395 


PAGE 


PAGE 


Specific  gravity  and  absorption.  .306,  375 


Split  rock  quarries .  251 

Springfield  Centre,  quarry  at . 250 

Stone,  use  of,  in  New  York  city.. 283,  309 

Stone,  absorption  tests . 359,  365 

Stone,  cementing  material  of . . . .  . .  377 

Stone,  durability  of . 373 

Stone,  freezing  and  thawing . 358,  370 

Stone,  microscopic  examinations.  .  . .  360 
Stone,  mineralogical  composition, 360,  379 

Stone,  physical  tests  of . 353 

Stone,  porosity  of . . 374 

Stone,  position  in  building. . . . 379 

Stone,  prices  of .  348 

Stone,  tests  with  acid  gases . 357,  368 

Stone,  tests  with  heat. . 358,  370 

Slates . ' . 218,  279 

Slate,  low  absorption  of . 367 

Slate  in  New  York  city .  306 

Slate  tiling. . . .  280 

Steuben  county,  quarries  in  .  276 

Stockbridge  marbles . 293,  311 

Slate  statistics . .  281 

Storm  King  Mountain  quarry . 231 

Streets,  paved,  New  York  city .  308 

Structure,  physical  and  durability. . .  373 

Structure  and  frost .  384 

Suffern,  quarry  at  . 230 

Sullivan  county,  blue-stone  in .  266 

Sulphurous  acid  tests . 358,  368 

Syracuse,  Onondaga  gray  limestone 

used  in  . 251 

Syracuse,  use  of  stone  in . 338 

Syenites  . 202 


T 


Talcottville  quarries . 247 

Temperature,  range  of  . . 383 

Tennessee  marbles .  327 

Tests,  physical,  of  stone. . 353 

Thousand  Island  granite . 233 

Three-Mile  Bay,  quarries  at .  247 

Thurman,  verd-ant.ique  at . 237 

Tioga  county  quarries .  275 

Tompkins  county  quarries .  272 

Trap- rock .  ....  206 

Tremont,  marble  at .  234 

Trenton  limestone . 210,  246 

Trenton  limestone  in  Utica . 333,  335 

Triassic  sandstone . 225,  278 


Trinity  church,  decay  of  stone  in. . . .  297 


Tribes  Hill,  quarries  at . 244 

Troy,  quarries  at .  259 

Troy,  use  of  stone  in .  330 

Trumansburgh,  quarries  at .  272 

Tuckahoe  marble . 234,  292,  312 


u 


Ulster  county,  quarries  in . 238,  259 

Union  Valley  quarries .  230 

Upper  Helderberg  group . 212 

Union  Springs  quarries .  252 

Utica,  use  of  stone  in .  333 


V 

Vanderbilt  houses,  New  York  city. . .  305 

Verd -antique  marble .  237 

Vermont  marble,  New  York  city.. 293,  311 


w 


Warren  county  quarries . 237,  240 

Warsaw,  quarries  at . 274 

Warsaw  sandstone,  use  of . 337,  345 

Warwick,  quarries  at . 238 

Washington  county  quarries. ... .  .242,  255 

Washington  county,  slate  in . 279 

Watkins  Glen,  quarries  at .  274 

Waterloo,  quarries  at... . .  253 

Waverly,  quarries  at . 275 

Water  absorbed  by  stone...  357,  365,  375 

Water,  eroding  power  of . 386 

Westchester  county  gueiss. .  ..  291,  311 

Westchester  county  marbles . 292,  311 

Westchester  county,  quarries  in.. 229,  234 

West  Point,  quarries  at. . . . 231 

Westport,  quarries  at .  232 

Whitehall,  quarries  at . 242,  255 

Wilber,  Francis  A.,  report  of .  356 

Willsborough  Neck  limestone. .  .327,  331 

Willsborougli  Neck,  quarries  on . 242 

Williamsville,  quarries  at .  253 

Wilton,  quarries  at .  232 

Wind,  effects  of . 386 

Wyoming  county,  quarries  in . .  274 


Y 

Yates  county,  quarries  in 
Yonkers,  use  of  stone  in. 
Yonkers,  quarries  near. . . 


. ...  274 
. ...  319 

227,  230 


MAP 


Explanatory  Notes 

The  map  which  accompanies  this  report  on  building 
stone  is  on  a  scale  of  fifteen  miles  to  an  inch.  In  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  colors,  exhibiting  the  geological  formations  and 
their  limits,  it  is  impossible  to  show  the  quarries  of  the 
various  geological  horizons,  as  the  Potsdam  sandstones, 
Trenton  limestones,  Lower  Helderberg  limestones,  etc. 
The  number  of  quarries  in  some  of  the  quarry  districts  is 
so  great,  and  they  are  so  close,  that  they  cannot  be  indi¬ 
cated  by  appropriate  signs  on  a  map  of  this  scale.  Hence, 
in  some  cases,  the  localities  alone  are  given.  Thus  West 
Hurley  and  Phoenicia,  in  Ulster  county,  stand  for  groups  of 
openings  in  the  blue-stone  territory  of  the  Hudson  river; 
Reservation,  near  Syracuse,  for  the  Onondaga  gray  lime¬ 
stone  quarries  ;  Medina,  for  the  quarries  in  that  vicinity, 
etc.  The  quarry  localities  are  distinguished  by  red  lines 
drawn  under  their  names. 

Many  small  and  comparatively  unimportant  quarries, 
which  are  worked  occasionally  for  private  use  or  at  long 
intervals  only,  are  not  given  on  the  map  —  nor  referred  to 
in  the  report.  Stone  for  building  can  be  quarried  at  so 
many  points  that  a  geological  map,  with  the  rock  outcrops 
shown  by  appropriate  colors  and  signs,  is  necessary  to  ex¬ 
hibit  the  natural  resources  of  the  State  in  stone  for  con¬ 
structive  work. 

The  map  shows  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  im¬ 
portant  groups  of  quarries,  and  their  location  with  reference 
to  the  cities  and  markets  of  the  State,  and  the  lines  of  canals 
and  railroads  and  natural  waterways,  whereby  they  are 
reached. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  development  of  openings 
has  been  along  these  lines  of  communication,  and  near  the 
cities,  as  for  example,  along  the  Hudson-Champlain  and 
Mohawk  valleys,  and  the  Erie  canal. 


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